To Be the Last
by BeyondSanity12
Summary: Disease has ravaged the human race, bringing them to near extinction. Edward left Bella months ago, and she has been locked up ever since she cracked and started babbling about vampires. Edward rushes to Forks to find Bella, dead or alive. With thousands of thirsty vampires rioting and the Volturi demanding that all humans be brought to Volterra, things are spinning out of control.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Disease has ravaged the human population. In just a few days, almost the entire human race has perished. Edward left Bella only a few months ago, and she has been locked in a padded cell ever since she cracked and started babbling about vampires. Edward rushes to Forks to find Bella, dead or alive, but can he handle what he finds?

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not and never will own any of the characters featured in the following story unless otherwise stated.**

Chapter 1

The silence was unnerving. The wind whipped past me as I ran, and I could scarcely believe what I knew. Everything had been so normal five days ago. Then it started. The plague has no name, but that leaves no dent in the amount of destruction it leaves in its wake. It began in Asia, sweeping through the population like a scythe chopping down wheat. It quickly spread to Africa and Europe. I remember the news coverage it had here in South America. _Thousands Dead of Disease, The Super Virus, End of the World, _and _Lockdown: No One Comes in or Goes Out _were a few popular headlines. Then it hit South America. By this time, I was already heading up to Washington. My plan was to sweep Bella away to a secluded place like Isle Esme until this was all over, but nothing is ever that easy. The disease was faster. It somehow hit Canada and the Pacific Northwest before I could run to Arizona. I stopped briefly at Bella's old house in Arizonan to see if she'd returned there since my departure. I knew that it was more likely she'd be in Jacksonville, but that wasn't on my way. While I was there, I turned on the news for a quick update. Of course, they were tracking the progress of the disease. They had a map of the U.S. with every place that had reported a case of the unnamed disease colored red with the shade brightening as far as number of cases goes. After the split second it took to see that the whole of Washington was a bright, bright red, I ran off without even bothering to turn off the television.

I run through the list of symptoms in my head. Once it starts, there is no stopping it. There is no getting better. The only way to live is to not be exposed, but, since we don't even know how it is transmitted, that is difficult. First, you get a killer headache along with a fever. Second, you feel incredibly thirsty, but no amount of water can quench it. Next you throw up anything in your stomach, which doesn't help you fight the disease. It becomes difficult to breathe or swallow anything, and your throat starts to swell. Eventually, you just die from lack of breath, thirst, or overheating. All of it happens in just eight to twelve hours. Sometimes, for the very young, weak, or elderly, it can take less. In impoverished countries where people didn't have enough to eat in the first place, it can take less than four. The pain is supposed to be so bad that they recommend shooting the victim before they suffer too much. Just thinking about these things happening to my Bella causes an almost intolerable amount of pain to rip through my torso. The thought of her still, pale, limp, empty . . .

I flit through civilization, though there is no sign of life anywhere. I can currently hear no thoughts for miles, and I'm in a decent sized city right now. Corpses are everywhere. I can practically feel the odds of Bella being alive when I find her diminishing with every second. If she is alive when I find her, she'll have to be sick. Will I change her? What kind of life would this be? It would be the life of a monster, but that's better than having no life at all, isn't it? In my heart, I know the answer. Yes, I would change my beloved. The only thing is that she'll have to be alive for me to do it. Her heart has to be beating for me to stop it.

_"Edward,"_ a familiar voice calls out to me mentally, _"Stop right there."_ At first, I ignore the command. _"Darn it, Edward, you'll kill her if you don't stop and listen to me!"_

That makes me halt in my tracks. I whirl around to see Alice rounding the corner of a street. She stops the moment she sees me. "She's alive?" I ask, voice strained, hardly daring to hope.

_"For now,"_ Alice thinks, _"But you need to think about what you're doing before you go see her. The only reason she's still alive is that she hasn't been exposed to it yet. If you walk in having been around all of this contaminated stuff, she'll catch it, and there's no way we'll be able to stop it after that."_

"I don't understand. How could she have not been exposed? The disease is everywhere," I choke.

_"I see her in a padded cell wearing a straight jacket. She's locked in with no access to the outside world,"_ Alice thinks. Then I see Alice's vision. My Bella was lying on the floor of a padded cell, just as Alice had described. Her hair was greasy from days without washing and her voice was hoarse as she spoke. There was no one there, but she talked as if she were having a conversation with a good friend. I think I hear various names mixed up in her babble somewhere, including those of my family, Charlie's, Renee's, and someone named Jacob's. I shudder. Had I driven her to this? The dominant part of me was rejoicing. She was alive! She had not contracted this terrible plague, and there is a good chance that she won't become sick. We just have to keep her from getting exposed to the disease . . .

"How can we keep her from getting exposed?" I ask eagerly.

"First of all, you'll have to make sure you and your clothes are completely clean. Carlisle has a machine he thinks will be able to clean the air so that nothing in the air will get to her. He and the others will meet us there. She'll need water, so that'll have to be cleaned too. We think that everything becomes sanitary after a few days. All of the microbes that cause the disease die once there is nothing left to feed off of. Carlisle thinks the disease is transferred through the air, and it's _extremely_ contagious, so we'll have to be careful. We'll totally decontaminate the room next to the padded one she's in before going in; we can't have any infected air contaminating the clean stuff. Then we'll wait a week or so before coming out," Alice explains, "It'll work; I can see it." She smiles widely at me before she takes off again.

I speed after her, running at full sprint. Everything seems like it's going to be okay. I wonder what we'll do after this. I'd been so focused on the immediate future that I never considered what happens after that. With the majority of the human population dead, all of the non-vegetarian vampires are going to be thirsty. Humans like Bella are going to be high in demand, and low in supply. We'll have to hide her or something. I won't let them kill her, and neither will my family. My family is strong, but we could be outnumbered. I'll take her to Isle Esme, and that will be like out fortress. My family will run regular patrols around the island. Then there's the issue of food and water. Bella will need to eat, and we'll need to hunt.

"We'll deal with that when the time comes," Alice sighs, apparently having seen me inquire, "For now, let's focus on keeping her safe from the disease. One issue at a time, alright?"

My silence is my consent. We run as fast as we can together. Her thoughts linger on Bella for a moment, but then she thinks of our family and what they're doing. In her head, I see them running through the familiar forests surrounding Forks. Then I see them coming to the asylum where Bella resides. Do to Alice's vampire hearing, I can make out her voice, barely audible and obviously parched. In between small spurts of speech, she breaks into fits of coughing, but it isn't like a diseased coughing. It's the sort of coughing you get from a sore throat and a few days without water.

It seems like hours to me, but Alice and I finally make it to the asylum. I don't stop when I see the building; I burst through the doors and down the labyrinth of formerly sterile, white halls. Bodies are scattered everywhere, and the stench of death is omnipresent, but I barely take notice. I follow the voices of my family to a heavy, metal door outside of the room they're in. I can hear Bella's shallow breathing inside.

"Can I come in?" I ask, gulping back fear. I don't want to risk polluting Bella's clean oxygen supply. I glance at a body slouching against the wall beside me; there is no way this is a clean area.

"You can come in, son," Carlisle responds, "We were waiting for you to arrive to take her out."

Carlisle had barely gotten the last word out before I was inside and the door was shut firmly behind Alice and me. "She's safe?"

"Yes, of course. She's dehydrated and hungry, but I don't think she's been infected. I don't know how long she has been in here, but it looks like no one has given her food or water for some time," he explains calmly. Looking closely at my father, I could see the pain in his golden eyes. Being a doctor, the past few days must have been agonizing for him.

"Are you sure it's safe to take her out?" I ask worriedly, Bella's health my first and foremost concern.

"Do you think I'd suggest it if it wasn't?" Carlisle snaps edgily. Then he sighs, running a pale hand through his hair. "I'm sorry these past few days have just been very…" He chokes at the end of his sentence, downcast with grief.

Esme walks up behind him and wraps her arms around him. "You did everything you could. No being on this Earth could have tried harder," she whispers soothingly to him, the sincerity of her words interwoven with her entire being.

Carlisle hugs her back, shutting his eyes and breathing in her safe scent. "I won't fail this time," he promises quietly.

Feeling as if I were invading their private moment, I glance around the room in search of my own true love. I notice Emmett and Rosalie crouched over a complicated piece of machinery, discussing it quietly; they are of little interest to me. Alice embraces Jasper where he stands forlornly in the far corner of the room, softly caressing the purple under his eyes.

My own hands burning to feel the soft skin of my love once more, my eyes lock on a figure through thick windows. The majority of the wall between us is made of glass, giving me a great view of her. She is even more sickly than she appeared in Alice's vision, though there is thankfully no sign of the plague. Her hair is shorter than when I left, matted and unkempt. Her eyes are closed restlessly. Her pink lips move slightly as she rasps out nursery rhymes. I cringe at the sound of her voice, hoarse and defeated, even as she whispers "Ring around the Rosy," an eerily perfect fit for this situation. Her arms are restrained to her sides, and my perpetually empty stomach twists as I think of what could have happened to force this on her. I watch in slow agony as her chest continues to rise and fall pitifully. She must be in so much pain…

What have I done?


	2. Chapter 2

_Previously: Edward arrived at the institution and found that Bella was still alive._

Chapter 2

**Bella's point of view (BPOV)**

I can see them surrounding me. The image is not clear, and I know that they were not real, but I can still see them. All seven of my imaginary Cullens are in the room, chattering and laughing so quickly that I can't make out the words. The edges of their frames blur, and they seem to glow somehow. It's the hallucinations again. I wonder fleetingly why no one has come to give me my anti-psychotic medication like they usually do, but I smile and shake it off. It's better this way.

"Isabella Swan, what have I told you about wearing the same outfit more than once?" imaginary Alice chastises me.

"But, Alice," I mumble wearily, "It's all I've got."

"Ugh, Bella, no excuses!" she exclaims.

I turn my head away, uninterested in a fashion monologue my subconscious dredged up from who knows where. My eyes lock on the most beautiful of my hallucinations. My beloved soul mate, the most blurry and translucent of them all, continues to stare at the wall as he has done since they threw me in here. He has refused to show me his face since my first episode. My throat constricts with the inadequacy the idea plunges through my mouth. He must hate me now for sure, now that I've exposed their secret.

"I'm s-sorry," I whisper to him, my eyelids fluttering as I struggle to cling to consciousness, "I n-never meant to hu-hurt you." I breathe in deeply, wheezing softly as I do so. My eyes water and I wish desperately to be able to wipe the precious liquid from my face and consume it. I haven't had any water in what seems like forever. So thirsty…

I don't know how long I've been in here. They took me away from my normal room on the second story after I had a tantrum during breakfast one day and threw me in here. They used to come in every so often to bring me water and feed me, but I haven't seen anyone in quite some time. They've never had me in here this long before, anyway. Usually they only leave me alone in here for a few hours to teach me a lesson; I heard one of the "helpers" muttering about it. It has definitely been more than a few hours, and no one has brought me anything in a long time. It's hard to tell time in here, since there are no windows, so I rely on my inner sense of time to judge.

"Oh, Bella, dear, you look so pale," hallucinatory Esme worries, her voice rising and lowering in volume as if it were only the wind, "When was the last time you had something to eat?"

"A while," I murmur, closing my eyes tiredly. Realizing what I'm doing, I wrench them open again. Rest means sleep, and sleep means nightmares. _But think about it,_ the less sensible part of me pleads, _"You can't be thirsty while you're asleep."_ Too exhausted to fight about it, the more sane portion of me relents, and I close my eyes.

…

A loud noise awakens me. My eyelids are still heavy with sleep as I peer around in search of the source. My hallucinations are still with me, but they are nearly transparent now. They are huddled around me protectively, their backs facing me. My tired mind connects their stances to the when they were protecting me at the baseball game, and I gasp quietly at the pain the vivid memory brings. It seems like I could put my hand right through Emmett's chest, just as the doctors always told me I could. My heart breaks a little at the reminder that the real Cullens are not here trying to protect me from an unseen danger.

When I first see the door begin to open, I close my eyes again and loll my head back. Thankful that someone has finally thought to bring me water, I sigh. Perhaps they've come to free me. My arms and legs are very stiff from the excessive amount of time spent restrained to my sides. I clear my throat in preparation to answer the questions that are surely coming. Most of them are politely concerned. How are you feeling today, Bella? Are you ready to come out now, Bella? We've all missed you, Bella; do you want to see the cards the others made for you? Then there are the not so nice ones. Think you can stay out for more than a week this time, Bella? Did you enjoy your time in your straight jacket, Bella? I don't like to respond to the nastier ones, but they keep me in here longer if I don't say anything.

The voice I hear, however, is the last thing I would have expected. "Bella," the musical voice asks, cautiously hopeful, "We're coming in now, okay?"

My eyes shoot open, flying around the room in search of the glorious speaker. I would recognize that voice anywhere. I have heard the familiar voice over the past few months through my hallucination, but this is so solid and real that it could only be legitimate. Just as I'm beginning to scold myself for hoping like that, a certain vampire slips through the doorway into my view. My eyes widen in shock, and tears spring forward again, sinfully blocking my sight. I attempt to wipe them away, but my hands are still tied to my sides. I breathe in and out shakily, shaking my head back and forth wildly in an attempt to fling the tears away. I cry out desolately, deeply distressed by my inability to properly see my beloved vampire. I struggle to lift up my torso, but the strain is too much on my underused back muscles. Fatigue rips at the edges of my will, but I yank it back forcefully; even if he is only a figment of my imagination, nothing will stop me from seeing him. I blink hastily, but the tears come too quickly for that to do any good. My chest heaves with the force of my desperation, and my breathing switches to heavy wheezing. Thirst scratches my throat like desert sand swirling around at the speed of hurricane winds. Black spots flash in and out of my vision, but I blink those away with sheer willpower as well. Now is not the time to pass out.

Cool fingers grab my shoulders, lifting me up against the stone chest of my beloved. I tremble, still trying to process what is happening. Could this be real? An internal battle rages within me as one part of me yearns desperately to hope and the other viciously fights to fend off any thought that this could actually be real. I breathe in quick gasps, struggling within my restraints as _he_ carries me out of my prison.

"Sh, Bella," he whispers soothingly, "It's okay. You're safe now."

_But can I trust this?_ I yearn to ask him, _Can I trust that you're actually here?_

He pulls me close and presses his lips against my temple tenderly. "I'm so sorry," he murmurs so softly that I wonder if he meant for me to hear him. He pushes a tangled mass of hair from my face, and I am suddenly self-conscious. In the event that this is real, an idea that I do not legitimately believe at this moment to be true, I am a mess right now. The days I spent without brushing my teeth or hair suddenly weigh heavily on my shoulders, shoving me into the embarrassingly well-lit hole of chagrin. I can taste the dryness in my mouth and know that my breath is not a pleasant aroma at the moment. My hair feels like it was soaked in grease and left to dry. _No wonder he doesn't want me,_ I moan mentally.

He carries me into a room I'd seen many times before on my way to the cell. The walls were all a generic gray color, except for the wall facing the cell which I know to be one-way glass. The floor tiles are a plain, grungy white color that shows the years of wear that psychiatrists and patients alike have inflicted on them. These things are not shocking to me; I do, however, find the people in the room to be very shocking. They're all there. The figments of my imagination, my hallucinations without the blurring, the character of both my nightmares and my dreams. All in one room. Come to see me, though I thought they'd left me for good. _Hang on,_ part of me rationalizes,_ It's been a few days since you had your anti-psychotics. That's all this is; quit getting your hopes up like this._

Still, my brown eyes widen as I take them in, and my dried lips twist into a bewildered grimace. I glance fleetingly at each face, going around looking at each face for only a second before beginning the cycle again as if I expected the ones in my peripheral vision to disappear on me. Seeing them again almost overwhelms me. Rosalie averts her eyes awkwardly, glancing at me pityingly every now and then. _She's disgusted with you; she can hardly look at you,_ the pessimistic side of me snaps.Emmett's eyebrows are raised in surprise, and his mouth is open in a grimace. Alice's puppy dog eyes are watering with unshed tears as she stares at me, and that combined with her tiny form makes me want to jump out of my hallucinatory beloved's arms and hug her. _That might make her cry more. _Jasper keeps his eyes down, his inner turmoil overt on his face. Remembering the events of my birthday, it is no question as to why he is so reluctant to be here. Esme gazes at me with heavy maternal sympathy, and I can practically see her hands twitch at her sides as she tries to figure out what to do next. My throat constricts with inadequacy. _You don't deserve her sympathy. You're the one who practically blabbed to the whole world about her biggest secret. _Carlisle's anguished stare affects me the most; his golden eyes swirl with the force of his regret and determination. He does not look like the man I saw on the night of my birthday party last year. I shrink farther into the chest of my beloved before remembering that he is probably the most reluctant to be here. Shame rockets through me like ice water, drowning me. My eyes snap shut and I wish to disappear, to no longer trouble this amazing family with my human troubles.

A cold hand grabs my shoulder lightly. "Bella," possibly hallucinatory Carlisle tells me softly, "I have some water. Do you want a drink?" I feel the brim of a cup against my lips, and I nod feverishly, too incoherent from thirst and confusion to say anything. I gulp desperately as the cool liquid falls into my mouth. I had not realized until then how thirsty I am. Going days without water in that cell had definitely not helped my body maintain homeostasis. When the cup runs dry, I whimper with thirst, opening my eyes and looking into Carlisle's eyes pleadingly. The pity in his golden irises brings me a few inches closer to reality, reminding me that I am not a starved animal and that I'm currently being watched by every single one of the Cullens.

I blink, and he's standing in front of me again with a full glass of water. Not wanting to seem completely helpless, I direct my muscles in my arm to reach up to take the glass, but they quickly meet the resistance of my straight jacket. Shame bubbles inside of me again, and I sigh shakily. My throat protests violently, demanding more of the precious water. Thankfully, Carlisle holds the glass to my lips once more, and I accept the water graciously. The cool liquid offers such relief that I know that it is real.

That abrupt realization makes me choke on the cherished water. I cough, forcing the water away from my lungs as my head spins. Carlisle pulls the glass away as soon as he realizes that I'm having trouble with the swallowing part of the drinking process. My beloved pulls me away in the same instant. I struggle in his arms, my drive to get to the water bordering on animalistic. My arms meeting the restraints, I sag with defeat.

His anguished black eyes stare at me, unfathomably riveted. I shrink away in shame, though I am unable to move very far away from the bearer of the strong, deathly white arms that cradle me tenderly. I glance down despondently at the man-made restraints that keep me from wrapping my arms around his neck as I wish. _He'd probably drop you._ Seeming to have seen my displeasure at the restraints, he slowly moves his hand to gently tear it off. For a fleeting moment, I notice the disapproval of the plainness of the revealed white tank top on Alice's face.

Nearly choking on memories of the myriad of shopping trips Alice dragged me on, I try to drag out the courage to ask the question that will change the course of my future. "Wh-wh-why are you h-here?" I stutter fearfully.

The Cullens glance around at each other for a few moments, panic obvious in their demeanors. My heart sinks; they are not here to stay. "Alice saw something," Carlisle begins, his voice strained and his expression stiff.

"She saw me here?" I prompt anxiously, "And what, you decided to come back and pull me out of the hole you so _graciously_ shoved me in, thinking everything would be okay if you just came back and told me it was all okay again?" I blink back tears. I don't know what's gotten into me; the idea of them returning only to placate the poor little boring psycho girl and then fleeing again at the first chance infuriates me. Looking at all of them now, there is nothing I want more than to have them remain with me forever. Regret is overt on all of their faces, but being ignorant as to its cause irks me even further.

"Bella," Carlisle continues slowly, "We made a mistake, and we are so sincerely sorry I could not even begin to relay the level of our regret to you. We…"

"No, Carlisle," my angel interrupts him, "I need to tell her."

The vampire doctor glances cautiously between us, but nods in the end. He walks over to Esme, and they and the rest of their family turn around cordially. I wonder fleetingly why they do not just leave the room I they wish to give us the illusion of privacy; they'll be able to hear us either way.

My angel breathes in deeply and uses the full force of his eyes on me. The agony there makes me instinctively reach out my hand to stroke his brown comfortingly. As soon as I make contact with his stone hard skin, I begin to pull back, but he moves at vampire speed to stop me, holding my hand against his skin with little more force than a caress. He leans into my hand and sighs softly before looking me straight in the eyes again.

"I'm so sorry Bella. What I did to you was an inexcusable act of blasphemy. I should never have left. After what happened at your birthday party last September, I thought it would be best for you—safest for you—if you did not have a coven of thirst-driven vampires breathing down your throat. I thought I was right, that leaving would protect you," he explains, and his voice, smoldering with anger, is more refreshing than the life-preserving water, "I see now that I was wrong. Dead wrong. Leaving you was the worst mistake of my life. After I had gone, there was nothing, no reason for me to live whatsoever. I wandered around aimlessly, a desolate ghost with no home to go to. Because my home was with you." My heart pounds unsteadily, and my breathing becomes uneven as I struggle to grasp the meaning of his words. "Because I love you, Isabella Swan, and every mile between us was like another day of burning. I have not felt such pain since Carlisle changed me. I knew I could not last long away from you, but I was a coward. I had run away from my fears and then I was running away from the obvious solution, fearing rejection as retribution for my grievous mistake." He closes his eyes for a moment, his mouth morphing even further into a disgusted grimace. "And you might be right to reject me, Bella. What I did was an unpardonable crime against all that is good and right in my world. I can only ever hope that you may find it in your heart to forgive my deplorable sins."

We are the only entity in the world in that moment, for, yes, we are a single entity. The sincerity of his pledge is unquestionable, and I suddenly feel whole again. Edward Anthony Masen Cullen is truly my other half. Grateful for the absence of my restraints, I throw my arms around his neck and bury my face in his disheveled bronze hair. "O-of course I forgive you," I sob joyfully, "I-I-I'm just so g-glad your b-back, and…"

"Oh, Bella," Edward whispers reverently, holding me closely to him, his love evident in his tone and the way he holds me, "I will never leave you again. We'll make it through this; don't worry."

"I love you," I pledge.

"As you are my heart and my soul."


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Saga or any of the characters who were born from it._

_Previously: Edward arrived at the institution and found that Bella was still alive. Edward removed Bella from her cell and they were reunited._

Chapter 3 (**Rosalie's point of view)**

"Whoa," Emmett says under his breath, his freshly golden eyes widening as we take in the sorrowful sight before us. The place reeked of death; even without seeing the area of mass destruction, it was easy to tell that many people had died here. Forks Hospital is now a graveyard. Emmett moves in front of my protectively as if he were trying to shield me from the dead. Looking around at the bodies of the people I had barely known, my own dead body feels colder than it ever has in all the years I've existed.

"There are no survivors here," Jasper observes bleakly, stating what we had already assumed. There was not a human heart beating within our hearing range. Carlisle had sent us three to see if anyone was still suffering from the terrible disease that had ravaged the Earth. Carlisle himself was unsure of what he would do if we found any; it would go against his deepest morals to let them perish, but he could not leave Bella's fragile health to chance by risking exposure. By the looks of things, he wasn't going to have to make the decision.

"At least they died quickly," Emmett murmurs sympathetically, gazing out at the dead humans in horrified awe, "The first to go may have had hope when they died."

I turn to him questioningly, slightly relieved to have a reason to turn away from the awful scene. My big bear of a husband has hardly ever looked so child-like in all the years I've known him. I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck while we wait for him to respond. Jasper seems just as interested in his comment. "I mean, the people who went to the hospital probably didn't know what was coming. Those who died at home, well, they knew what was coming for 'em I guess." He looks down, accepting my embrace weakly.

"It's okay," I murmur soothingly, stroking his hair lovingly, "Our family is fine. Bella is still okay, remember?"

His posture straightens at that reminder. "Yeah," he agrees, "At least clumsy Bellsie is still healthy. I just…We knew these people, y'know? We might not have spoken to them on a regular basis, but we still new who they were. They had lives, and futures, and it was all snatched away from them so fast…They didn't even know it was coming."

"Humans are very fragile," I sigh, "They may have life, but they also have death. Their lives are so fragile. They wake up one morning, and then they never sleep again. It's all very precarious, I guess. That's one thing I suppose I don't envy about them."

Still, I know the image of the hospital shall haunt me for eternity. Even without my flawless memory, the impromptu graveyard would have a pedestal in my mind for the duration of my existence. The bodies…so many bodies. So many dead, so many who would never have the life I wanted so badly. _You're not the only one,_ I think wryly. I know many of these faces; I saw them every day in the hallways of Forks High School for years. Had none of this occur, they would have fallen into the dusty dictionary of past peers I had accumulated over my years. How strangely it is we remember those who die the best, and not those who go on to live happy lives.

A cold hand clasps my shoulder, and I swerve around to face my assailant. Realizing that it is only my brother, I sigh. "I think it would be best if we moved on now," he suggests firmly, leaving no room for disagreement, "There is nothing here." _Nothing,_ I think coldly, _Nothing but the dead and their hopes and dreams._

We take off into the woods again, listening closely for any sign of human life. Despite the near annihilation of the human population, animals are still thriving. At least one heard of deer is searching for food. I hear a mother bear and her cubs about a mile away. At least we will be well-fed, unlike our less ethical brethren. My brooding brother had yet to take this factor into account. His human is probably one of the only creatures of her kind still alive, and there is going to be a high demand for humans in the coming centuries.

We run through Forks, untroubled by our old fears of being spotted by a human. The sun shines down on us brightly, and our skin is equally as radiant as we carry out our search. Our eyes are pealed for a specific person whom Bella would be especially distressed to find dead, namely Charlie Swan. He was not at the hospital, and that does not surprise me. Loyal Chief Swan struck me as the type of man to fight until the bitter end for the town he'd fought sworn to protect. We search every likely place in Forks until the sun begins to fall out of view, the same as it was a week ago. Nothing bothers the stars, I suppose.

"It's useless," I groan, coming to an abrupt stop as we leave the police station, "He's not here. He was probably on some trip in Seattle, and I am not going all the way over there tonight." I feign exhaustion in a weak attempt to hide the true reason for my resentment of a trip to the big city. If tiny Forks was completely transformed into a graveyard of this degree of horror, the idea of the sight Seattle must be makes me shudder. So many people…

"Maybe he was in La Push," Emmett suggests, "Wasn't he friends with one of those Quileute elders?"

Jasper and I nod in resignation. A trip to La Push I can handle, though the damage there must surely be as wretched as in Forks. We speed off into the twilight, all of our separate thoughts on how different this twilight is from all the others we have seen.

"Stop," Jasper calls, astounded. We all come to an abrupt halt.

"What is it?" I ask, glancing around anxiously in search of any danger. The memory of James, Victoria, and Laurent rages to the forefront of my mind like the ghost of a spiteful viper, refusing to be forgotten.

"Listen," my brother hisses, "Heartbeats, human heartbeats!"

We instantly go completely silent, Emmett and I straining to push our less-than-military-grade hearing to its fullest. They are there, though the auspicious signs of life are barely discernible among the other sounds of the forest. I notice in awe that the rhythm of the hearts does not stutter; these humans are relatively healthy. There are not enough to indicate that the entire town of La Push had survived; from the snatches of conversation we can catch, I gather that they are working to bury the dead.

"Come on," Jasper orders us quietly. He holds himself tensely, his pupils flitting around in his golden irises at top speed.

"Ew," I whisper as we come closer to the suspicious humans, "It smells like wet dog."

Even from a mile away I can hear the humans stop moving and speaking for a few moments. "Did you hear that?" a low male inquires sullenly.

"Bloodsuckers," a second man sneers.

"Looking for somebody to drink, no doubt," a third growls.

"Not findin' one here," a fourth speaker remarks bitterly.

"C'mon, guys," the first speaker orders them tiredly, "Let's do this. La Push is still ours to defend."

"What's to defend?" the fourth speaker snaps viciously, "It's all gone, everything's gone! Everybody's gone, she's gone, and…" He chokes up at the end of his statement. Momentarily, I feel pity for the poor soul; he has undoubtedly lost someone he cared for, someone he would never see again. I am yet again grateful for my family's immunity to such diseases as the one that has slaughtered billions of more fragile beings.

Emmett, Jasper, and I slow to a barely human pace. Our suspicion is palpable in the air. The chance of these few humans being randomly immune to the disease is very slim. Their smell, combined with that probability leads me to believe that there is something not quite right about them. I reach out to enclose Emmett's hand in my own. These beings—supernatural or otherwise—will not be a threat to my family; I've seen today the horrors that can befall human families, and I am not about to let anything jeopardize mine.

"Oh, be quiet, Jacob," the first speaker, whom I gather to be some sort of leader, "Quit acting like you're the only one in pain."

"You're one to talk, Sam," the one named Jacob accuses his conversation partner, "After Emily…passed, you tried to off yourself, and now you're telling me I'm not allowed to mope?"

"C'mon, guys, lets…" a younger boy begins tiredly.

"That's different, Jacob, and you know it," Sam snaps, his voice heavy with the weight of his grief.

Jasper visibly flinches, stopping completely. He kneels down onto one knee, his breathing erratic. If I didn't know better, I'd say he is out of breath. The muscles in his back spasm briefly as if he was beginning to convulse. His glittering fingers sink into the forest floor as if it were mere butter, though the crunching of the twigs and rocks on the ground projects quite the opposite impression. He grunts in exertion as he reels to recover himself. His battle scars are one of his most conspicuous qualities in the sunlight; they remind me of the years he spent fighting in the South and all the pain he felt there. For this to bother him to such a degree, the pain of the men ahead of us must be immense.

Emmett crouches down behind him and places a large hand on his shoulder, still keeping a hand in mine. "Come on, Buddy. It's alright. You're okay."

"Alice!" Jasper gasps feebly.

"Alice is okay," Emmett soothes him, "She's with Bella, remember? And Carlisle, and Esme, and Edward…They wouldn't let anybody hurt her. We're all okay."

My brother shakes as he rises to his feet again. He runs a muddy hand through his hair, carelessly dirtying his golden locks. His designer jeans—hand-picked by Alice, of course—are also stained with mud. He sighs, casting my husband a thankful glance.

The boy named Jacob begins to shout, "You don't know…"

"Jake," the young boy pleads, "Remember, the vampires!"

Jacob sighs, beginning to cool down. "Right," he snaps, "The filthy, disgusting bloodsuckers…" He mutters something that I don't catch.

"Right," Sam agrees reluctantly, "The bloodsuckers."

The sound that greets my ears next bewilders me: the unmistakable clothes of people removing their clothes. Emmett, seeming to find humor in that, jokes, "What, are we about to suffer the wrath of the nudists?" I half-heartedly smack his arm.

The next sound, however, is even more shocking. It is a sound I have heard few times before, though I still recognize it after all these decades. "The wolves," I whisper, taking a step back, "It's the wolves; they're wolves."

Emmett throws me behind him again, still under the delusion that I need protecting; he knows better than anyone that I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Jasper looks back at us in confusion, raising one blond eyebrow at me. "Wolves?" he inquires softly, bewilderment evident in his tone.

"Werewolves," I warn him lowly, "Those men—the Quileutes—are werewolves."

"We met up with them a while back. We thought they died out a long time ago…" Emmett breathes.

"But I guess not," I conclude bitterly.

Jasper's eyes widen as he takes in that new information. "Well, thanks for the warning," he states semi-sarcastically, "You could have…"

"No time," I snap, "The border, we have to go back over the border!"

Emmett and I take off, Jasper following closely at our heals as a pack of wolves suddenly shoots into pursuit. I easily find the place where we agreed to make our border centuries ago easily, though there is no longer any tangible evidence that the river separates a pack of werewolves from a coven of vampires.

As we turn to face the coming attack, I wish desperately that Carlisle were here. I glance at Jasper, waiting for him to take the head position in our trio, but he shakes his head. I look at Emmett, but he only nods at me and then at the frontal position. Taking a deep breath, I step to the front of our group. When the wolves are within view, I call, "Stop! We just want to talk!"

At first, I don't think they're going to listen. Then the one in front, a large black wolf that must be the leader, skids to a stop. The others, though some reluctantly, follow his example. My nose wrinkles as the stench of wet dog becomes even more potent. Asking myself what Carlisle would think, I work to keep my face straight. Carlisle would want to keep our relationship with the wolves cordial at the very least. He would be polite to the dogs, which means not showing his distaste at their smell.

Once the dogs are all standing still and I'm mildly certain that they won't attack us at this very moment I begin to speak. "As I'm sure you know, I am Rosalie Cullen, and these are some of my family members. We have returned to Forks to recover one of our members who we have been missing for the past few months. My husband, brother, and I were just patrolling the area to check for any survivors. Once our business is done we will leave; we mean you no harm."

A russet wolf whose size rivals the leaders snarls viciously, seeming to roar with rage. His disheveled reddish brown fur shakes as he does. Apparently realizing that we cannot understand the insults he is barking at us, he transforms into a muscular man around Emmett's height.

"How dare you! How dare you come back here after all this time and try to take her back! Well, I've got news for you, you filthy, disgusting bloodsuckers—you won't find her here! It's too late. You were too late. _I _was too late. And she wouldn't take your ghastly excuse of a blood-sucking brother back even if she weren't…if she weren't…" he shouts vehemently, trailing off at the end. The sun reflects off a tear as it falls one of his sad brown eyes.

"Dead? What do you mean, she's…" Emmett begins to ask.

I cut him off. "How do you know she's dead?"

Seeming to recover himself, he sucks in a deep breath and replies, "I went to the hospital where she was. Yes, you messed her up so bad they had to put her in that place. Everyone was dead. Most of the workers either abandoned the place or died there. I couldn't even go inside." He squints his eyes shut as if he were trying to ward off a dreadful memory.

I do my best to look properly disappointed. My mouth puckers into a small 'O' shape and I widen my eyes. "Oh. Well, that changes things, I suppose," I say quietly. I look down as if I were quickly changing my plans. "I guess we'll just be going then." I turn to walk away, gesturing to Emmett and Jasper to follow my lead. Then, stopping as if on a whim, I inquire, "Do you know anything of her father?"

"He's dead," Jacob chokes ruefully, "We buried him in with the rest of our people. He was a true friend to us."

"And," I continue, "If you don't mind me asking before we go, what is your plan now?"

He looks around at his canine brethren. "We're not sure," he responds quietly, "I guess we'll just be staying alive." I find it curious that he says the word alive as if it were some sort of curse.

"Thank you," I tell them cordially, turning to leave again.

This time, I run off into the woods toward the mental hospital to deliver our findings to everyone else. Our feet fall gracefully onto the pine needles that layer the forest floor, barely leaving any trace of our presence despite our high speeds. I watch as Jasper pulls about a hundred yards ahead, still appearing haunted by the emotions he felt coming from the wolves. I pout in displeasure, wondering if I handled the situation correctly. That certainly wasn't how Carlisle would have handled the situation, but I think that it was the best way to protect our family.

"What was that all about?" Emmett asks as we run, "Telling them Bella was dead?"

"We have enough problems on our hands, don't you think," I reply, "Without a pack of mangy wolves fighting with us over Bella. It's better if they just think she's dead. Happier for them, safer for all of us. We'll be leaving soon anyway, and Bella's coming with us, so it's better if they keep inside their little canine bubbles."

Emmett, however, remains contemplative. After a minute or so of us quietly dodging trees, he states thoughtfully, "I just thought, maybe, it might be nice to give them something to hope for, don't you think?"

I sigh, considering his opinion. Disgruntled as I am by his contradiction of me, I must admit that I see where he's coming from.

Not that I'd say that out loud, anyway.

"Why should I care about the feelings of _dogs?_" I sneer hopelessly, picking up my pace in an apparent effort to catch up to Jasper.

"Rosie!" Emmett calls after me, gently grabbing my shoulder to stop me. We stand in the middle of a deserted street. He holds me in front of him, though he does not use so much force that I could not leave if I wanted to. His mouth was twisted into a grimace, and I observe that he still has the dimples I adored so much. "Rosie," he pleads, "Please don't distance yourself from me. I know times are tough, but that's why we need to stay together. This is terrible stuff, it all really is. I know it feels like the whole world is dying, but we still have each other. We still _need_ each other. We can get through this, but we have to stay together. I hate it when you get like this. I know that's your defense mechanism, but please, baby, let me help. Don't shut me out."

Overcome with emotion, I throw my arms around his neck. He wraps his strong arms around me, and I know that what he says is true. We can do this. We just need to stay together.

_Authors note: I'd just like to say thank you to the people who reviewed the previous chapter; they really made my day. As for all of you reading this, reviews are always nice, though I understand that not everyone has the time to review. I don't mind short reviews; any way you can indicate that you enjoyed/read the chapter is very much appreciated. If you're unsure of what to say, I'll put a review prompt at the end of every chapter. Answering the question is totally optional, and additional thoughts are also great._

_Review prompt: What did you think of the Emmett and Rosalie moment at the end?_

**Also, don't go thinking this is the last we'll ever see of the wolves. You didn't think Jake would let go that easily, did you?**


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight.

_Previously: Edward arrived at the institution and found that Bella was still alive. Edward removed Bella from her cell and they were reunited. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves that Bella was dead._

**Chapter 4 ****(Edward's point of view)**

I sigh and loll my head back against the walls of the padded cell, reveling in the feeling of being alone with my love. After Bella had fallen asleep in my arms, I had taken her back into her former prison with enough water to last a few more days and some food. As soon as we were sealed away, Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper had left. That was several hours ago; I estimate that it would be past nightfall by now, and I wonder what has been taking them so long. Not that I mind.

Bella stirs gently in my arms, and I hum her lullaby softly to her to calm her down. Just as she has all the other times she has threatened to break into the conscious world, it is highly effective. Her breathing patterns and pulse rate return to their normal sleep pattern. I inhale her scent gluttonously, the monster within me as quiet as it was the day before I was changed. The very idea that Bella had succumbed to the disease while I wallowed in an attic somewhere in South America was close to unbearable; the only thing that kept me going was the small sliver of hope that she was still alive. Luckily, the odds were on my side and I found her still breathing.

_At least my leaving achieved one thing,_ I think tiredly, _The pain I caused by leaving Bella actually saved her life; if I hadn't left, we might not have been able to find a safe place to put her before the disease spread to Washington._

I am broken out of my reverie by the intrusion of Emmett's loud thoughts. Alerted by his louder voice, I listen closer and make out Rosalie and Jasper too. The news in their thoughts astounds me. Emmett and Rosalie are mostly focused on each other, but Jasper is entirely focused on a certain revelation. _Wolves?_

Of course, I remember the werewolves we'd met several decades ago. However, my mind is suddenly burning with questions. _Ephraim and his pack are long dead; how are there wolves now? How are they still alive after the whole town was killed by the disease? _These questions are the first to come to my mind. Glancing down at Bella's peaceful face, even more frightening ones spring to mind. _What if they try to fight us? Are they a danger to Bella?_

Jasper's aggravated thoughts are reassuring. _Don't worry so much, Edward,_ he soothes me, _I can feel your stress from out here. Rose smoothed everything over._

I breathe a sigh of relief, but I am unable to quash my fears completely. I listen closely as Jasper relays the tale of their meeting. Meanwhile, I do my best to bar Rosalie's and Emmett's thoughts from my mind; they won't be returning to the building for a while. Once Jasper has told me all about their encounter through his thoughts, he begins cleaning up the mental institution and the immediate area around it. When it is safe for Bella to leave these rooms, I certainly do not want her to be greeted by the dead. She will already be grieving for Charlie and her human friends without seeing the carnage first hand, not to mention her worry for her mother.

Several times I have run through how I will tell Bella about what has happened in my head. Apart from telling her that I had to leave back in December, this could very well be the hardest conversation of my life. Most likely, when she wakes up, she'll ask me a question like what I've been doing the past few months or why I've brought her back into her cell. Then I'll begin my story. But, where to begin?

I become so absorbed in my thoughts that I do not notice as Bella stirs. "Edward?" she mumbles tiredly, reaching up to touch my face.

Immediately reverting all of my attention to her, I respond calmly, "I'm here."

She smiles softly, yawning quietly and adjusting herself into a sitting position on my lap. After a moment of silence, she speaks again, "So, what've you been up to while you were, er, away?"

I stiffen at her words, beginning to panic. I am unprepared to start this conversation just yet, but I don't think it would be fair to keep this from her much longer. Stalling, I inquire, "Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

She nods eagerly, her eyes honing in on the pack of water on the floor beside us. As quickly as vampiricly possible, I open it and am holding out a bottle of water to my beloved. She swipes it from me swiftly, bringing it to her lips and sucking the water out like a thirsty vampire, spilling some on her dirty tank top. When she stops to take a breath, she smiles apologetically at me. "Sorry," she apologizes as she wipes some drops of water from her chin, "It's j-just been a while, y'know?"

"Yes," I agree softly, stroking her hair lovingly, "I definitely know what it feels like to be thirsty."

"I guess you would know that, wouldn't you?" she chuckles. Her pale fingers rub the skin beneath my eyes, and she frowns. "You need to hunt," she observes reluctantly.

"I'm afraid I can't do that right now," I half-whisper.

A crease forms in between her eyebrows. "Why not?" she asks, not completely disappointed.

I sigh, deciding hesitatingly that she deserves to know what's going on. "Bella," I address her strongly, "Something terrible happened while you were in here. It was completely and utterly out of anyone's control. We couldn't stop it; no one could have stopped it. It came on so quickly that we were all caught unaware. It was a freak thing; Alice didn't even see it coming until it was too late. I was still wallowing in self pity when I caught wind of the catastrophe." The level of animosity that the last thought brings me forces me to take a moment to recover myself before continuing. Bella already looks distressed; my deepest instincts are begging to just placate her, to tell her everything is wonderful and then whisk her away to a "private" vacation somewhere where we wouldn't see any humans on a normal day. The intelligent part of me, however, knows that lying to her will not do anyone any good. I'm lucky enough to have earned Bella's favor back as it is; she would never forgive me if I lied to her about something as important as this.

"Go on," she prompts me, her brown doe eyes wide.

I take a deep breath and decide to start from the beginning. "I was in South America when I got the news. I had just entered an airport, trying to decide where to go next, when I saw it. No planes were to go in or out of the country because of it, and the stories were on all of the televisions and newspapers. As soon as I figured out what was going on, I started running back here to find you. I just had to save you from it, I just had to… The very idea of failure was unacceptable, but the odds seemed to be stacked against me once again. You don't know the-the ecstasy I felt when I found you here still alive."

She strokes my hair gently, even more bewildered than before. I realize that I am crying, or doing the vampire equivalent to crying at the very least. I struggle to compose myself again, unable to bring myself to say the words. The prospect of having to tell Bella—still so fragile from her days of deprivation—that basically the entire human race has died seems like an insurmountable task.

"What happened, Edward?" she asks anxiously, "Why did you think I wouldn't be alive when you found me?" Her eyes reveal the thoughts swirling around in her mind as she strives to figure out the meaning behind my words.

I reach up to touch her hair and look her straight in the eye when I tell her what has happened. "There was a disease, a terrible plague. We think it started in the Eastern Hemisphere, but we're not sure. It came on violently. Hospitals were flooded with the ill, but there was nothing the doctors could do. Even Carlisle couldn't find anything that could save its victims. It seemed to spread through the air itself, claiming some small countries in just a few hours. When I heard of it, everyone was panicking. I ran straight here; the fear that I had already lost you to the virus was wretched."

**Bella's POV**

Edward watches me anxiously as I digest the new information. His black eyes are wide in fear and his mouth is twisted in a grimace. His shoulders are hunched anxiously. He pulls his hand out of my hair at vampire speed the moment I tilt my head downward. The information just doesn't seem to sink in to my brain. He spoke very clearly, and I intellectually understand everything he said, but my emotions seem to be a little far behind.

"What?" I ask blatantly, utterly stunned by the news.

Edward sighs and looks down. "I'm sorry," he apologizes faintly, his melodious voice barely audible.

The information sinking in a little further, I am able to respond. "No," I blurt, shaking my head, "That kind of thing only happens in movies. There's no way that could have happened. Not in the real world."

"I'm sorry," he apologizes again, "But I'm afraid it _did_ really happen. I saw it myself, and it's nothing I'd want you or anyone to see."

Heat rushes to my cheeks, and I feel my skin become moist with perspiration. "No," I proclaim shakily, "I won't believe it. Not until I see it for myself."

"No!" Edward exclaims fearfully, raising his hands as if to restrain me if I tried to run. His ebony eyes widen with panic and his gaze fixes on my startled face. Then, recovering himself, he lowers his guard again, suddenly seeming to find the back of his hand intriguing. "I'm sorry; that was out of line. What I mean to say is that that cannot be. The disease is still contagious, you see, even though it has claimed the majority of its victims."

"Victims?" I squeak, the reality of the situation gaining clarity in my mind.

He sighs again, evidently uncomfortable. "Yes," he responds shyly, "There were many, many victims."

"And Charlie?" I squeak, "What about Charlie? And Renee and Jacob? Angela, Mike..."

He is shaking his head before I even finish. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." His voice burns lowly with the weight of his sorrow. His eyelids, tinged a deep violet from his thirst, squint shut as he shakes his head.

Thoughts whirl around inside my head like tribal dancers, chanting in foreign languages and moving with such grace and foreboding passion that I feel as if I must step back. This whole idea just seems so outrageous, so out there, that there's no way it could be real. I begin shaking my head slowly as these thoughts come with increased ferocity. Still shaking my head in disbelief, I mouth the word, "No." I look up at the now wide, black eyes of my vampire, and, for the thousandth time in the past few months, legitimately question my own sanity. _Let's look at this from an outsider's point of view,_ the snarky part of my mind suggests condescendingly, just as many psychiatrists had during my time here, _Your vampire ex-boyfriend has returned and is now telling you that the whole wide world is basically dead. Hmmm…_

"No," I murmur, shaking my head even more vigorously now, "No. This isn't happening. I'm a psychotic lunatic, and…"

"No," Edward asserts vehemently, "Don't belittle yourself that way, Bella. You are neither psychotic nor a lunatic."

"But," I moan tiredly, "I shouldn't even be talking to you. You're probably just some figment of my imagin…"

In a manner so perfect that it is almost cliché, Edward breaks off my rant with a kiss. The phenomenon of his lips on mine acts like the flipping of a switch. The lights inside of me come on, and the fog I hadn't realized I was in is lifted. The colors in the room are so vivid, from the beautiful bronze of Edward's hair to the white of the padded walls. The weight on my chest disintegrates, leaving no shards or debris in my temporarily perfect world.

"I thought we'd already confirmed that this was real?" he whispers against my lips.

At that moment, I am too incoherent to respond. It is only after he pulls away and looks into my eyes again that I remember the reason I questioned him. My mind naturally reaches out desperately for an excuse, some sort of cliff to grab on to before I fall. "You're lying," I blurt out without really thinking about it, "You must be!"

"No, Bella," he responds mournfully, "I'm not lying. Not this time."

Enraged by his denial at my final excuse, I lash out at him scathingly. "Well, you don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to telling the truth!"

He sucks in a deep breath, thinking carefully and critically before saying anything. My eyes fill with tears when I realize what I'd said and see the sincerity in his eyes, but there is no taking back my statement now. "I don't know how I'll ever make it up to you, Bella, and I wish I were lying to you right now. For this atrocity to be all one sick joke would be lovely, and I hate having to tell you all of this, but it's true. I saw the news and I saw what the disease did; there is no doubt within me now that any part of this is a falsehood."

The tears in my eyes spill over. The enormity of the situation grows within me like a weed, sprouting in my stomach and binding my limbs with its rotten tendrils. The weed's black, infected thorns inflate in my throat, choking me. Edward's eyes, though solidly black, convey a myriad of sentiments that break through the very barriers of my soul. He pulls me close to his chest and strokes my hair as I cry. "A-are you absolutely s-sure?" I sniffle.

"Deplorably sure," he whispers, "It's a wretched fact, but _we will survive._ It isn't all over. I'm here, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep you _safe._"

_Author's note: Thank you SO much for all of your reviews. It was amazing to find them all in my inbox, and I hope this chapter gets the same reception._

_Review prompt: Who is excited for BREAKING DAWN PART TWO?_


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight.

_Previously: Edward arrived at the institution and found that Bella was still alive. Edward removed Bella from her cell and they were reunited. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves that Bella was dead. Bella received the awful news of the pandemic._

**Chapter 5 **

**(Bella's point of view)**

I hardly remember leaving the cell. I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that important events such as the Cullens literally carrying me out of Forks went practically unnoticed. It is only now, as I begin to recover from my grief, that I begin to pay attention to what is currently happening. We—or the Cullens, rather—are running through a pine forest at vampire speed. Strangely, I am as accustomed to their speed as I was before they left, and I'm glad that I won't have to readjust. Edward has not let go of me since he told me what had become of the human populace, and I suddenly feel very grimy in the tank top and hospital-issued sweats I've been wearing for the past several days. I shift in his arms, shamefully aware of my oily skin and the stringy brown hair that hangs limply at my shoulders. I bring my elbow to my face to wipe the tears off of my cheeks.

"Where are we going?" I ask hoarsely, feeling awkward breaking the silence.

"Denali," Carlisle responds, "To meet up with our cousins there. I assume Edward has told you about them?"

The claws of my mind drag through long-buried memories of the previous year. Among my findings, I am able to recall mention of another group of vegetarian vampires who lived in Denali. I nod tiredly. "Tanya, right?"

"Yes, Tanya and her sisters Kate and Irina along with Carmen and Eleazer," Carlisle confirms quietly, "We figured they might be able to help us figure out what to do next. We're sort of at a loss on how to proceed, you see."

"Yeah," I agree, clearing my throat to no avail. The speed of the wind against my face hinders my speech, but not as much as the emotion that wells up dryly in my throat. I turn my face back into Edward's chest and contemplate what _I_ think we should do next. If it were up to me, we would probably stay in Forks. I want waveringly to look for Charlie and Jacob. I would have insisted that I see the destruction for myself had I not been emotionally compromised when we left. In addition to that, my dread of what we might find is as restricting as metal chains. The very idea of them being dead is enough to send me into a flurry of grief; I can't imagine what the sight of it, the feasible proof, would do to me. Part of me says this is selfish, that I should do everything within my power to seek them out. The other part of me, however, is dauntingly dominant: self-preservation.

With the idea of lingering in Forks stuffed in the desk drawer of my mind, I go on to consider other options. What would there be to do with no other human in the world? _Well, the vampires should be happy,_ I think bitterly, _They're finally the dominant species._ That which was once only a wry thought produces a full-blown panic within me. Vampires being the dominant species on Earth is probably one of the worst things that could happen to me at this point. As the black in Edward's eyes shows, vampires get thirsty, and, when vampires are thirsty, human blood is their first choice. If word gets out that I, now a rare delicacy, am hanging out in Alaska, the poor Denali coven's doors are going to be knocked down by the army of bloodthirsty monsters who would, after weeks and weeks of starvation, kill for even a sip of my blood.

Edward, having noticed the change in my mood, hugs me to his chest even more tightly, stroking my still greasy hair tenderly. My cheeks burn with self-consciousness. "What's wrong?" he whispers anxiously. I only shake my head in response.

"Don't you think we should make camp for the night?" Esme suggests, gazing at me with motherly concern, "Bella looks like she could use some food and a bit of sleep."

As the Cullens slow, they look to me for confirmation. "Yes," I admit bashfully, "That does sound pretty nice."

The Cullens slow to a stop in a small clearing among the trees. Before Edward can even set me on my feet, Emmett and Rosalie are working on setting up a lonely tent and Jasper and Alice have set to work on a fire. Esme and Carlisle both pull out food from packs I hadn't known they'd had. I stare in wonder as they produce pots and pans that no average being would have been able to hold for five seconds, let alone carry as they run across continents. My distraction causes me to stumble a little when Edward puts me on my feet, but he steadies me easily. I cast him a grateful smile before turning to survey the campsite again. My eyes widen at the sight of a two-room, green canvas tent already completed within the few seconds I spent watching Carlisle and Esme. Rosalie and Emmett have gone on to pull even more food out of their backpacks. I shake my head as I turn to watch Alice and Jasper make a fire. This, at least, they have to do at a semi-human pace. Alice disappears for a few seconds before arriving with a stack of firewood.

"Whoa," I breathe, looking wistfully around the small clearing at my new family.

"I know it's not much," Edward apologizes regretfully, "But it will have to do for tonight. Carlisle estimates that we'll arrive in Denali tomorrow, so you'll be able to sleep in a real bed tomorrow night."

"No, it's great," I insist, locking my hand around his.

He smiles down at me and reaches out to touch my hair again, but, remembering my lack of cleanliness, I inquire with chagrin, "Er, do you know when I might be able to, um, shower, or something like that?"

Before answering, Edward looks to Alice, whose eyes glaze over for a fraction of a second. Then he turns to me and replies, "It would be best if you waited until we got to Denali to shower. They have a well, and we think we can get it to run without electricity. Tanya and her sisters, of course, will be able to provide you with shampoo."

"Thanks," I mumble, looking down.

_The ground is the same,_ I observe thoughtfully, _The dirt and the rocks remain untouched, though the entire world above it has been so radically altered. _Irrational envy surprises me. _How dare you just sit there? Why is it that I seemed destined to suffer, you remain in your perfect world of contentment?_

Chastising myself for mentally yelling at dirt, I turn back to Edward. "Come on," he says, pulling me over to the makeshift fire pit. Someone has brought out some logs from the forest for us to sit on, though the fire has yet to be started.

A very confused Civil War veteran sits around the pile of logs in bewilderment. He lights what, judging from the pile of burnt out sticks on the ground, is the fifteenth match he has attempted to wrangle into doing its work. He holds the tiny flame to the bark of a log until it burns out. "Why isn't it burning?" he wonders, frustrated.

"You're just not doing it right," Emmett scolds him, kneeling down beside the fire pit, "Here, watch me do it." The muscular vampire takes a red-tipped stick between his large fingers, swipes it against the side of the box, and throws it into the fire. He smiles smugly as if expecting it to burst into flames the moment he did so. When the match burns out, he scowls. "It should be burning! I think we've got some defective matches or something."

The other Cullens appear to be just as confused as he is. They all look to Carlisle, three-hundred-plus-year-old vampire, holder of a myriad of college degrees, for help. He looks around just as helplessly as the others.

A small smirk spreads itself onto my face at their incompetence; even I know the basics of how to start a fire. When I was about nine, my mother decided to enroll me in Girl Scouts, and it looks like the information I learned on my first, ill-fated camping trip was actually valuable. "You need to start with smaller sticks, or paper if you have it," I explain, "Light them, and, if we're lucky, they'll light the medium pieces on fire, and they'll light the larger pieces on fire." Seeing that my family is still pretty confused, I walk over to the edge of the woods and offer, "Here, let me show you."

After about a half an hour under my tutoring, we've got a modest fire going. As we stand admiring our work, Esme suggests brightly, "Would you like some food, Bella? You must be starving by know, and we have some food that doesn't need to be cooked."

"Oh, yes, Esme, thank you," I reply, smiling serenely at my mother-in-law.

Esme pulls out a bag of cool ranch Doritos and a banana and presents them to me, looking pleased with herself. Unable to destroy Esme's pride by telling her that Doritos and bananas are not the best combination, I accept her offering gratefully.

The others, apparently satisfied that I had been fed, all sit down around the small flame with me except for Carlisle. Edward sits close by me, our shoulders touching and our hands intertwined. I peal my banana quickly and begin to nibble, trying to look sophisticated as I eat while not being able to completely hold back my hunger.

"Edward," Carlisle from the edge of the woods, "Would you like to go hunting with me? It has been a very long time since you last fed, and I don't think it would be prudent to go much longer without hunting."

Edward casts a conflicted look at me. I, seeing the black that has taken over his once golden eyes, nod encouragingly. Upon seeing my approval, he releases my hand and rises reluctantly. "Of course, Carlisle. It would be lovely to accompany you."

Carlisle disappears in a blur, the fragile branches of the trees shaking in his wake. My heart aches as Edward follows him. _What if he doesn't come back?_ the pessimistic side of me frets, _This was probably their plan all along; they'll be gone by the time I wake up in the morning…_

_No!_ the rest of me argues ferociously, _They would never do that, though…_

_They have before._

"Is the banana okay?" Esme asks worriedly, "It was a little brown, but it was the best I could find at the store."

"Oh, it's fine," I assure her shakily, my cheeks flooding with color as I continue to nibble on the fruit. I wonder how much longer it will be before there is no more fruit like bananas available. With no one to bring them in from where they're grown, I have a feeling my time enjoying such delicacies as bananas is limited. The source of my food from now on is another portion of the unknown future that lies ahead of us.

"Glad Mr. Self-pity is finally gone," Emmett comments, throwing a few sticks into the fire, "Maybe some blood will get the self-pity out of his system."

"Don't talk about your brother that way, Emmett," Esme scolds him maternally, "He's been through a lot lately."

"As if it wasn't all his fault," Emmett scoffs, his boyish dimples showing even as he berates his brother, "He made a mistake, and now he can't pull himself out of retrospection long enough to see the obvious course of action now: Change Bella."

"You know why…" Jasper begins quietly.

"Why he's clinging to an idea that was illogical from the beginning? Yeah, I know that. It's because he's a stupid ja…"

"Emmett," Esme chastises him, "Watch your language."

Emmett grins and, not the least bit reproachful, apologizes, "Sorry, Mom. You have to admit, though. He's not making any sense."

Esme sighs and reluctantly agrees with the unruliest of her three sons, "Yes, he is being a little stubborn, but he always has been. He'll come around, eventually."

"I can't see it," Alice informs them worriedly, "Not right now. Edward must be very adamant about this."

"Then we'll just have to change his mind," Emmett exclaims, standing abruptly, "There's nothing left of the human world. I say we go out and make him see sense. Are you with me, Jasper?"

Jasper opens his mouth to answer, but Alice beats him to the punch. "That's a terrible idea, Emmett. Seriously, one of your worst moments. If you go out there and try to 'make' him see sense, he'd only be more bent on his decision. I don't think that's it, though. There's some sort of external factor, something that just won't allow the change to occur."

Suddenly, they all turn to me. I had been sitting quietly, listening to their conversation with a kind of hopeless yearning.

"Yeah, maybe we should ask Bella what she wants," Rosalie suggests arrogantly, brushing her still perfect blond hair with her fingers as she leans up against along, "This is her life, after all."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Bella," Esme says apologetically, a crease forming between her motherly golden eyes, "We just assumed, after last year, that you'd still want…Well, I guess it was wrong of us to assume."

"It's not me," I tell them quietly, "I've always wanted that."

"Well then, what…" Esme starts to ask before stopping. All of them jump to their feet so quickly that their movement appears to me like switching scenes in a movie. I gasp in surprise, glancing around wildly for any signs of danger.

Then I am in someone's cold arms, and we're suddenly flying. I look around wildly, noticing that little Alice was the one to have swept me off my feet with such ease. The green of the trees seems to form walls around us, Alice moving so quickly that I'm still trying to wrap my head around what has happened when our little campsite is only a distant memory. The light of the moon does nothing to penetrate the canopy of the trees around us. The scent of the pines fills my nose as I breathe in the cold night air. The wind on my face makes it difficult to breath and see at first, but an adrenaline rush helps me accommodate to the change in my atmosphere.

As quickly as she began our journey, we are stopped roughly. The stop is jarring, and I know that there will be many bruises to be accounted for later. A powerful force shoves us into an unfortunately nearby pine tree, sending it toppling down along with us. Alice's arms disappear from around me, and I am left with my nose in a blanket of pine needles. My arms, weak from months of underuse, shake as I lift myself up into sitting position. I scramble backward, wiping sap and leaves away from my eyes. In the suddenly acutely defined forest, two pale figures lash out at each other spasmodically, as if they were actors in a badly choreographed movie. The smaller of the two figures whom I assume to be Alice is the farthest thing from a Hollywood star I could imagine. Her feral snarl tears through my chest like a lion's claws. Fear clogs my throat as I take in the intimidating silhouette of her opponent. Though she has proven to be a formidable foe in any fight, the tiny vampire looks very outmatched in the scuffle.

The rough bark of the fallen pine digs into the bare flesh of my arm as I use it to hoist myself up. The pine needles are not at all soft against the soles of my feet. I hesitate only a few moments before deciding that Alice needs more help than I can get her. I turn clumsily, my feet sliding as I go, and speed off into the trees. My breath becomes sporadic as I pelt off into the unknown trees.

"Edward!" I shout desperately, "Carlisle? Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, someone…" My cries turn to hoarse sobs, my voice unable to hold up for long. "Please, please, p-p-please…Somebody!"

A sharp force sends interrupts my sprinting, slamming me savagely into a tree. The bark once again threatens to break skin through my clothes. I involuntarily cry out in pain, thrashing out wildly as my back is scraped against the tree until I am a foot off the ground. I stone hand holds my shoulder in place with enough force to at least crack a few of my bones. Dark, crimson glare into mine ferociously. The vampire's angular jaws and perfect features are highlighted in the moonlight, glowing softly. His face is only inches away from me. He leans his head forward, breathing in deeply. The frigid breath he releases as he exhales makes my hair stand up. I can feel his ragged jacket against my body as he leans closer, obviously enticed by the aroma of my unfortunately delectable blood. I shake with fear for my life, for there are no means of escape available. Even if I weren't being held against the equivalent of a wall, there is no way I'd be able to outrun this monster.

The obviously thirst vampire growls frenziedly. "Delicious…" he whispers lowly, inhaling again, "So long I have gone without hunting, and so easily we have found you…" Images of James in the ballet studio all of those months ago flash through my mind as his lips near my throat. "I can only imagine the taste…"


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight.

_Previously: Edward arrived at the institution and found that Bella was still alive. Edward removed Bella from her cell and they were reunited. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves that Bella was dead. Bella received the awful news of the pandemic. After a day of traveling, the Cullen's temporary camp was attacked when Edward and Carlisle were out hunting, and Bella was cornered by a very thirsty vampire._

**Chapter 6**

**(Edward's point of view)**

"Don't pretend this is the only reason you asked me to come out here, Carlisle," I sigh resignedly as I drop the bloodless carcass of an unfortunate mountain lion to the ground, "I know what you want to talk about."

Carlisle straightens up from finishing off the deer that would have fallen prey to the lion. "Well then I suppose there's no use beating around the bush, then, is there?"

"You want me to change Bella," I say flatly, listening closely to his thoughts.

"Now, son, before you write the idea off, I want you to hear me out," my father begins hurriedly, "Due to recent events, I think the only prudent thing left to do is change her. There is nothing left of humanity. What kind of 'human' life could she have now? Being chased around by thirsty vampires all the time—you know they'll find us eventually—and having to scrounge around for food all the time, getting older and older until she finally passes away from disease or old age or something? Before, I could understand what you wanted. College, a family, a life without the wretched thirst…That I could see. This, however, is irrational. I must insist that you consider…"

"Relax, Carlisle," I say, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "If you were human, I'd be worried about your blood pressure. I have already come to the same conclusion as you have."

Carlisle relaxes then. "Really? What changed your mind?" _I know what you think about our souls; it must have taken something significant to sway you._

I pause for several milliseconds before responding. "I just had lots of time to think, you know? I had lots of time for contemplation while I was away. Some things Bella said really stuck inside of me. After a while—longer than it should have taken—I reached my conclusion. The argument that did it was probably…" I pause, looking nervously into Carlisle's eyes, "was that I couldn't look you or Esme in the eyes and tell you that you didn't have souls. I couldn't do it myself, and I would probably seek my horrible vengeance on anyone who tried."

The shock in Carlisle's mind is almost wordless. Finally, he smiles warmly at me, portraying his pride and gratitude in his thoughts.

"My son," he breathes, embracing me paternally, "I'm so glad you have finally seen the light. You have grown so much, and it has brought your mother and me much grief to see you so depressed. I pray that, now, you will be able to find happiness, my wonderful boy."

I hug him back, swimming in my pride in his sincere remark. "Thank you, father," I tell him, "For putting up with my foolishness. I know I've been unreasonable for the past few decades, but I will do my best from now on."

"That's all I could ever…" Carlisle begins.

_Edward!_ Rosalie's mental voice shrieks, shattering the heartfelt moment, _Get your sorry butt over here! We're under attack, you idiot!_

I jerk out of Carlisle's arms, instantly alert. Horrible things fly through my mind. _What's going on? Who's attacking us? Who's winning? _The most dominant, dangerous thought in my mind is: _Is Bella okay?_

As soon as I am able to tune in on Rosalie's location, I sprint determinedly in her direction. I am vaguely aware of Carlisle following me as I push myself. Nearing the already damaged battleground, the cacophony of sudden war is spewed into my ears. Shrieks and the wretched tone of tearing metal prod me further into my more animalistic self, intent only on finding and protecting his mate.

Thoughts also race on around me. I scan them as quickly as I can for any sign of Bella. First, I hear Alice despairing as she takes care of a former opponent. _Where'd she go…Oh, I've lost her!_ Alice's thoughts ignite such a panicked fury in my heart that my already heightened senses are thrown into hyper drive.

Finally, I am able to pinpoint Bella's location. Unfortunately, my horror drowns out any and all relief I may have had. _"Delicious…"_ The semi-frenzied thoughts of a monster a distance away are suddenly my focal point. I deviate sharply from the path I'd been following, knocking down a tree or two in my quest for speed. Rage bubbles inside of me, boiling until my heart and lungs float to my throat and I let out an uncontrollable, animalistic roar. I tear through the forest, an ultimately destructive force with only one purpose: to end the life of the malignant creature who dared to threaten the girl I love.

The demon continues, his voice like claws raking slowly through my insides. "So long I have gone without hunting, and so easily we have found you…" I push myself further, the utterances of my love's pain I hear through the thoughts of this monster, propelling me to a point at which I truly think I can go no faster.

"Delicious…"

At long last, they come into sight and I have only milliseconds to plot my next maneuver. To run straight into him could injure Bella. To confront him verbally first would run the risk of him taking her life before I can stop him. Both outcomes are obviously unacceptable, but the idea of doing nothing is atrocious. With no time to weigh further options, I decide to do a variation of the former option. I wrap one arm around the assailant's neck and grip his other wrist in my other hand. Bella slides to the ground, but I don't have time for any examination of her health greater than verifying that her beautiful heart still beats.

The other vampire, having been quite fixated on the hunt, is still overcoming the shock of my attack when I throw him against another tree. The thick trunk of the great pine cracks under the pressure, and the tree itself lands at a slant among its brothers. Spitting obscenities at him, I proceed to quickly ripping his throat out. The screech of tearing metal fills me with insane pride and pleasure. With no lighter or matches on me, I settle for spinning around and hurling his head into the trees about a mile away. I continue to lob his various body parts in different directions until there is nothing left but Bella and me.

Feeling almost tired, I turn to look at Bella. She has pulled herself to her feet again, crouching against a tree in fear. I walk toward her slowly. "Bella?" I ask quietly, "Are you hurt?"

To my great shock, she throws herself into my extended arms. "Oh, Edward…" she sobs as I rock her back and forth.

"Sh, Bella, it's okay," I murmur comfortingly, reveling again in my stupendous luck. She could have so easily been taken from me, whether by that wretch or any of the other forces that have moved against us in the past few months. _Things will be so much easier once she has been changed!_

I sweep her up in my arms and listen carefully for the thoughts of my family. To my relief, their fighting has stopped as well. I can hear Carlisle conversing with their leader, my family disheveled but otherwise unharmed. I run in their direction. "We're sorry to have trespassed on your territory, Jacques. We were only passing through," Carlisle assures the leader of the opposing coven.

"Oi,'t's not my territory. Not no longer. Nothing here but _bêtes__et les morts !_ No good !" the apparent Frenchman grunts, "_Vous irez!" _His remaining coven members grumble their agreement in French.

"Yes, Jacques, we will be leaving now," Carlisle agrees as I run into the clearing with Bella.

The moment the scruffy, bearded man sees and smells my Bella, his amber eyes widen, and he gasps, "_Elle est humaine! _It is human!"

"She is not food," Carlisle asserts, "She is family."

"But, she is alive!" Jacques exclaims, "How is it that she is alive?"

My adoptive father glances back at us. He scans Bella for any obvious medical abnormities, and, apparently placated, responds calmly, "She was in solitary confinement throughout the duration of the disease. Her lack of exposure saved her life."

"_Etrange_…" he murmurs, "Are there others?"

"No, she was alone," Carlisle replies curtly, "That is why she lived, and she will stay alive."

"But, she knows our secret!" a smaller man of the coven shouts, "Give her to me, she must be killed!"

"What, Jean, are you an imbecile?" Jacques shouts resentfully, turning on his accomplice and waving his arms around wildly, "You heard the little witch child. Humans are now an 'endangered species' or something of that sort. If you kill this one, you might as well create an immortal child for the Hell there will be to pay!"

In his mind, I see Jane and a few more members of the Volturi paying them a visit. _"We are searching for survivors to be taken back to Volterra for preservation. Any vampire found with bright red eyes or a newborn vampire is subject to a fate worse than death."_ I hold Bella tightly to my chest, my eyes widening as I take in this new information. Of course, the Volturi would have to come in and do something about this crisis. For them and the majority of the vampire populace, humans are their only food source, and, with a vast percent of them gone, they would have to take affirmative action before their followers rioted.

"We'll all die anyway…" Jean rants pointing madly at the sky, "It's the apocalypse, I tell you, the apocalypse! They've killed the humans and left us to starve until we go mad and kill each other!"

I am not the only one bewildered by this new information. "Excuse me," Carlisle inquires, "But I am afraid my family and I have yet to come across the 'witch child' and her associates. Would you be so kind as to relay their message to us?"

"Aye," Jacques agrees, turning to face us again, "So she comes and she says what we already know. Disease, blah blah blah, endangered, blah blah blah blah… And then she says we can't eat anything we come across! I haven't seen such oppression in ages. Telling us what we can and can't eat… It's an outrage!" He pauses briefly, his dark eyes focusing on Bella. "As for you lot, I suggest you head straight off to Volterra. Some sort of registry, they've got there. The punishment for any lawbreakers shall be…severe."

"Worse than death, they say," the one named Jean interjects.

"Oh, be quiet, you great oaf!" the leader shouts at him.

"Thank you," Carlisle says politely, seeing that this conversation must come to an end very soon, "I think we'll be going now. As I'm sure you know, we're in quite a hurry."

"I see. Good luck then," the man agrees, waving his coven forward and looking pointedly at Bella, "And I suggest you be very careful what you do with that one."

_Author's note: Thanks for reading yet another chapter. I've been getting some good reviews, but not quite in the quantity that I would like. I'd like to thank sujari6, the lone reviewer of chapter five, for her repeated reviewing. It's really nice to know some people are reading the entire story. I would also like to thank everyone who reviewed chapter five (including sujari6) for being awesome. I politely request more reviews this chapter, though the rest of the story will come whether you comment or not. Now that I've gotten through the first few introductory chapters, things are really going to get interesting…:D_

_Review Prompt: What do you think of the Volturi's decree?_


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight.

_Previously: Edward arrived at the institution and found that Bella was still alive. Edward removed Bella from her cell and they were reunited. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves that Bella was dead. Bella received the awful news of the pandemic. After a day of traveling, the Cullen's temporary camp was attacked when Edward and Carlisle were out hunting, and Bella was cornered by a very thirsty vampire. Edward rescued Bella and Carlisle arranged a truce with the opposing coven's leader who told him that the Volturi had outlawed the changing of humans._

**Chapter 7 (Bella's POV)**

No one has audibly spoken since we took off, nor has anyone stopped. My heart has hardly slowed either. I am dying to ask Edward questions. Was that vampire telling the truth? If so, what exactly does that mean for us? I am neither an idiot nor deaf, and it doesn't take a doctorate degree to realize what he was saying. As the government of the vampires, the Volturi had to take action before everyone rebelled, and taking action means rounding up as many humans as possible. Unfortunately, I fit into that desolate category.

Either Jasper isn't trying, or he is unable to diffuse the tension among us. I can't bear to look at Edward's face. Though I know it's irrational, I feel ashamed that I am causing them so much grief. The Cullen's anger is tangible, and it scares me. I suppose I'm not one to talk though; my emotions are all over the place as well. I can tell that we are getting closer to our destination in Alaska; the wind is becoming chiller. Perhaps being near familiar friends would calm them down a little bit.

After what feels like several weeks in the asylum, a promising house comes into view. I break from my reverie and notice that Emmett is no longer with our group; he probably went ahead to tell the Denali we were coming. The house is large and mostly made of wood. Like the Cullen's home in Forks, a large percent of the walls are made of glass. As we get closer, I notice several pale figures standing outside as if to greet us. Getting even closer, I recognize one of them to be Emmett.

The figures disappear inside before we get to them. One by one, the Cullens shoot him after them, Edward carrying me in last. He does not stop to ask permission before taking me straight into their well-lit living room. He sits stiffly down on their lime green couch, pulling me close to his chest still and burying his face in my hair. I reach up to place my hand on his hair comfortingly. He pulls back to look at me, and I smile at him weakly. His returning smile is even more pathetic than mine.

A noise directs my attention to the center of the living room. Five new, stunningly gorgeous vampires are standing there. Self consciousness floods me again at the sight of them with their perfect features and clean hair. I _really_ need a shower…

"Hello, Bella," a woman with strawberry blond hair greets me, "I don't believe we've met before. I'm Tanya. Surely Edward over here has told you everything about me."

I blush, all the social rules I've ever learned telling me to simply smile and nod. Truthfully, however, Edward has never even mentioned this woman by name. "Oh, yeah," I lie hesitantly, nodding.

Tanya rolls her eyes. "Oh, stop," she scoffs, "I know Edward hasn't said a word about me, have you?"

Edward sighs exasperatedly. "No, Tanya. The subject never came up."

Tanya huffs, stepping back. I get the impression that Tanya does not like me very much.

"I'm Kate," another blond woman introduces herself quickly, shooting her sister a scolding side glance, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

I take her outstretched hand eagerly, glad to have moved on from Tanya. "The pleasure is mine."

"And I am Irina," the next blond one says, stretching her hand out as well. I nod, moving on to shake her hand.

"I am Eleazer, and this is Carmen," a man of apparent Spanish descent introduces himself and the woman next him whom, by the way he wraps his arm around her shoulders, I assume is his mate.

"It's nice to meet you, Eleazer, Carmen," I say, shaking both of their hands in turn.

The room is not silent for long once the introductions are finished. Carlisle begins speaking almost immediately. "So I assume Emmett told you what has happened."

"Yes," Eleazer sighs, "We heard the news also. Jane and several other guards came by yesterday and relayed their message to us. The Volturi are indeed rounding up humans. You see, they need to…"

"No!" Edward snarls fiercely, pouncing angrily to his feet. The hair stands up on my skin and I jump, searching instinctively for the danger, though I know it is Eleazer's thoughts that bother him. "No! I won't let that happen! We'll have to run, escape, do something…"

"Edward," Alice snaps desperately, "You can't do that. They'd kill us, all of us! You know that. Just see what I see."

Edward visibly flinches, his golden eyes frantic. "But we have to do something. We can't just sit down and wait for them to take her away!"

"We'd have a chance then," Alice insists, "Everything else ends, er, badly. Very, _very_ badly."

"But…"

"Would somebody please tell those of us without special freaky powers what Eddie boy is ranting about now?" Emmett demands angrily, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Just calm down, boy," Eleazer exclaims in frustration, "Would you just be quiet for a minute and let me explain my theory?"

Edward's eyes flit around the room again, staring imploringly at each of his family members before finally sitting back/ down beside me. "Proceed," he mumbles unhappily, wrapping his cold arm protectively around my shoulders.

"Thank you," Eleazer sighs, "I know this is hard for you."

"Just get on with it," my beloved mumbles, looking emptily off into the distance. Fear strikes me like glass shattering within my chest; I know that look.

"As I was saying," Eleazer explains, "I think we have an idea of what the Volturi must want. With the human population basically vanished overnight, it would only be sensible of them to take immediate action to preserve their main food source. To do so, they must ensure that the human race continues, and, for that to happen, they must gather up every survivor they can find into one place so that the repopulation of Earth may commence." I blush fearfully at the indications of his explanation.

"We'll just have to run then! To somewhere they won't find us. I won't let them have Bella, I just won't!" Edward rants, holding me closer to him, "We'll go hide in a cave somewhere, flee from house to house. I don't care what we do, but I'm not letting them have Bella!"

"No, son," Carlisle sighs, shaking his head solemnly, "You know we can't outrun them; they're too powerful, and they have practically the entire vampire race on their side. Even if they don't find us, some other thirst nomads will smell Bella and come after us. We can't live that way."

"Well, what do you suppose we do then? Just let them come in and take her? We have to do something!" Edward shouts.

"Dude, just change her," Emmett proclaims as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Change her and they won't have any reason to take her."

"You heard what they said, Emmett," Alice snaps, "I've seen what would happen if we tried that, and it isn't pretty. You heard what they said; the Volturi will kill us if we're found with a newborn, no questions asked!"

"But if we hid for a year or two, they wouldn't be able to tell," Emmett suggests.

Alice shakes her head again, placing her hands on her hips. "Aro would come to seek out Carlisle sooner rather than later for advice, and as soon as he read his thoughts…we'd all be goners."

This doesn't settle Edward down even slightly. "But we can't just…"

"What do you think we should do, Bella?" Esme asks me softly, interrupting her oldest son's raging, "This is your future, after all."

Her sudden question startles me. Up until this point, I'd been anxious enough listening in on the conversation. It has been so long since someone asked for my opinion that I'm not quite sure what to say. I glance around the room quickly, noticing that everyone's eyes are zoned unblinkingly on me. My blush deepens at all of the sudden attention.

"Well, uh, I'm not really sure what to think exactly. I mean, I-I don't know much about these Volturi people, but they don't seem like a group to be trifled with," I observe nervously, trying to buy myself time to think before I have to put in much serious input.

Edward seems to be pushed even farther over the edge by my observation. He grabs my shoulders and turns me to face him, his golden orbs staring into mine with an intensity that knocks my breath away. "So you think we should just go to them, then? Hand you over and let you join their little breeding village?"

"Would you stop and listen to me for just once, Edward, before jumping straight to conclusions?!" I shriek indignantly, surprising even myself with my audacity. I feel my already heated cheeks redden more, and tears threaten to poke out from around my eyes, stinging my dry skin like a mild acid. Looking around wildly at his shocked family members, I am driven to defend my statement. "Seriously! You almost never consult me in anything, even when it involves me! You just assume that you know everything I'd want to do just because I'm human, and you're older and bigger and stronger, but I just…I have thoughts too, you know?" My voice cracks a little bit at the end of my statement.

Edward's eyes soften at my harsh rebuttal, and I regret my accusation the instant I see his expression change from a scowl to a frown. He has been doing well since his return, I suppose. We had officially made up, but that doesn't mean that all of my negative emotions about his departure are gone.

After a moment of silence I bury my face in my hands and mutter, "Just forget I said anything…" The dreaded tears make their appearance, and I will them to dry up in their ducts and never show themselves again; everyone must think I'm enough of an emotional wreck without me crying all over the place.

"Oh, Bella!" Edward laments sorrowfully, embracing me comfortingly, "I'm sorry. You're right; I shouldn't have jumped to a conclusion like that. Please, don't cry."

I melt into his embrace automatically, shaking my head as I will myself to be stronger. "No," I say shakily, "I'm sorry. We're all very emotional right now, and I…I guess I shouldn't have said that. Just go back to ignoring me or something."

Thankfully, he doesn't listen to my request. He strokes my hair lovingly, and I almost completely forget about his family's presence and the looming threat of the Volturi; it's as if nothing can be wrong in my world while Edward is here.

I jump slightly when Emmett breaks the silence. "So…What do we do now?"

"We can't do anything but wait, I suppose. Running won't give us points with Aro. If we just explain to him the situation…" Carlisle begins hopefully.

"Don't get your hopes up, my friend," Eleazer warns him sullenly, "You've always tried to see the best in people, but even you must know that that isn't going to be enough for Aro this time. A healthy human turned to another thirsty mouth to feed wouldn't be in the best interest of their cause, remember. He's not going to let a commodity as hot as this slip through his depraved fingers."

Edward tightens his arms around me, kissing my hair gently. "They won't touch her," he whispers determinedly, "I won't let them." He pauses for a second, contemplating something. "Alice, you must see something. Isn't there any way we could escape them?"

Alice is silent for several minutes, and, as soon as I hear Edward's sigh of frustration, I know that her search has yielded nothing rewarding. "I don't see anything worth trying. There's something that's just…consolidating my vision of the Volturi coming here to find us."

"Here?" Tanya asks, "Why would they come here? Jane and her bunch already dropped by. Pleasant houseguests they were! Why would they be coming back so soon?"

"I don't know," Alice replies truthfully, "I can't see what it is…I just see them coming. It's as if they somehow _know_ there's a human here. Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of it."

"Well, what do we do now?" Esme asks worriedly, glancing fretfully at me.

"We wait, I suppose," Alice sighs, "There's nothing we really can do…They're coming, and we can't stop them and we can't hide…I just don't see any other option other than to wait to see what happens and deal with it from there."

"But that just won't do!" Edward roars, making me jump again.

"Edward, you know I..." Alice begins sorrowfully.

"Well, my brilliant brother," Rosalie interrupts her scathingly, "I just can't wait to see what amazing plan you've come up with that Alice hasn't already seen get us all—your little girlfriend included—killed. Go on. Don't be shy."

Edward is silent, his mouth stretched into a grim line. My heart picks up its pace in worry.

"Rosalie," Carlisle chastises his adopted daughter sternly, "Don't be so rude to your brother. We're all under a lot of emotional strain right now, as Bella correctly pointed out, and we're all struggling. Don't tell me you wouldn't be doing the same thing in his situation."

"But she's right," Emmett points out, apparently feeling the need to defend his wife, "There really is no solution."

"So are you saying that you'd just sit here and surrender Rosalie to the Volturi to become the equivalent of cattle, Emmett? Is that what you're saying?" Edward hisses.

"Of course not!" Emmett exclaims, "I'm just trying to say that…"

"Stop!" Alice orders authoritatively, glaring around the room in a circular motion, "This isn't getting us anywhere! I swear, Edward, I will keep watching for anything we could do to prevent this, but as things stand now it would be best if we all just stayed polite and put." Quiet follows her rant for several seconds before Alice whirls around to face Edward. "Don't you say anything!"

My beloved shuts his mouth sullenly, looking downcast.

After several minutes of tension filled silence and statue-like vampires, Tanya breaks the silence. "Would you like to shower, Bella?" she offers innocently, "You look a little worn down."

The insinuation of her offer sends a rush of shame through me. With all of the fighting, I'd nearly forgotten about my tattered condition. Suddenly very aware of my greasy hair, bad breath, and grimy skin, I eagerly accept her offer. "Oh, yes, thank you," I reply quietly, moving to get up. After a few seconds, Edward releases his hold on me to allow me to stand; I fight off the irrational disappointment.

Once I am only a few feet from Tanya, she wrinkles her perfect nose slightly and suggests, "We have toothbrushes too; you can wash up."

"Thanks," I mutter, shuffling my feet nervously.

The strawberry blond vampire waves me forward, strutting down a richly decorated hall. Panic rises in my throats once they are out of sight. _What if they leave me again?_ Of course, the more rational side of me shoots that idea down almost immediately. They'd never do that. I remember what Edward said; he was so desperate to protect me. They'll never leave me gain. No matter who tries to kill me.

_Author's note: I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I'll try to be more prudent in the future. If I were to blame something other than my own laziness, I'd have only the other wonderful writers on this website to point fingers at. Thank you for still reading. We got five reviews last chapter; let's shoot for at least that much this time. I'd like to give an eternal thank you to everyone who has reviewed, added this story to favorites, followed, or just even read this story._

_Review prompt(s): Why do you think Alice's visions of the Volturi coming are so solid? What do you think everyone is going to do next?_


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight.

_Previously: Edward arrived at the institution and found that Bella was still alive. Edward removed Bella from her cell and they were reunited. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves that Bella was dead. Bella received the awful news of the pandemic. After a day of traveling, the Cullen's temporary camp was attacked when Edward and Carlisle were out hunting, and Bella was cornered by a very thirsty vampire. Edward rescued Bella and Carlisle arranged a truce with the opposing coven's leader who told him that the Volturi had outlawed the changing of humans. The Cullens then reached Alaska and discussed their issues with the Denali coven._

**Chapter 8 (Edward's POV)**

The world around me was silent as I sat on the hill, or as silent as silence can be for me. For the first time in millennia, there were hardly any humans beyond these hills, their thoughts intruding my peace as they went about their daily lives. Now there is only one human, as far as I know. This human is the most exquisite being to ever exist, my beloved Bella; I will be forever grateful that she is the one to have survived this catastrophe. Surely, it seems, there must be more people in the world than my Bella. The idea that so many humans were killed in such a short time is mind boggling enough; something is telling me that their simply _must_ be more people out there.

It is, however, easy to imagine the vampires who stalk the land beyond this in search of their now endangered pray. Closing my eyes, I can see them, their eyes black with thirst and their minds muddled with desperation. And then, in the towers of Italy, a coven of powerful vampires prepares to scour the Earth in search of survivors. The image of them, feral and desperate, would not have sent chills through my body if not for the fact that my reason for living is exactly what they're searching for.

This is the reason that I fled from the house in Denali. Being so close to my family, hearing so many pessimistic thoughts about our future, was unbearable. As soon as I'd ascertained Alice wouldn't let Tanya bite Bella's head off or vice versa, I had run quite literally for the hills like the coward I am.

"This is a definitely a very difficult situation," Esme observes thoughtfully, breaking me from my reverie.

I whip my head around quickly, only now noticing that my mother for all intents and purposes is perched next to me. Her caramel hair blows in the wind, and her eyebrows are knit together in concentration, reminding me slightly of Bella. Her golden eyes are trained on some point for off in the horizon.

"Yes," I agree, frustrated, "Very difficult indeed."

Esme turns to face me, and the intense love in her golden eyes shocks me. "But can deal with it. I know we can."

"Oh, if only it were that simple," I groan, running my hand anxiously through my hair. My stomach twists, the hopeless emotions within me evoking the human sensation within me.

"I'm not saying it won't be hard," Esme sighs, "It will take lots of effort. We'll need all of our strength, our reasoning, and our every ounce of compassion we can muster."

"No offense, Esme," I say bitterly, "But I don't think compassion can help us very much in this situation."

"But, you're wrong," she explains fervently, her eyes alight with her belief in her words, "It is our compassion that has made us who we are today." In her mind, I see each member of our family as she sees us: noble and gracious.

"It is our compassion that led us to abstain from human blood all these years." Shame washes through me as I picture my wretched rebellious years. In Esme's mind, I see flashes of Carlisle working in the hospital, of Jasper in school, and of me in the hospital with Bella.

"It is our compassion that made us all—Bella included—a family." The memory of the fight we had before I left into September bashes its way into my consciousness, and I cringe at the thought. My mother's mind, however, plays a seemingly never-ending reel of times when we have come together to help each other. Each image tugs at my heart encouragingly, and a proud smirk begins to make its presence known on my face.

Esme captures me in her intense gaze, and emotion clogs my throat as she continues. "The people we are today are better than the ones who seek to tear us apart; because of who we are, we are stronger and more united than they could ever be. Our long-term abstinence from the now oh-so-coveted substance puts us at an immeasurable advantage, allowing us to remain sane while all others are driven mad and incompetent from withdrawal. And our family's loyalty outweighs any agreements of convenience they could forge out of nothing!" She takes my hands in hers, and tears that would never shed glisten around her eyes. "What we have is omnipotent, and it can overcome the largest of armies. It may not allow us to decapitate them all with a glance as we all wish sometimes, but it certainly gives us an enormous advantage. Do not underestimate that advantage, my son."

Dry sobs shake my shoulders as she envelopes me in her motherly embrace. Like a small child, my mother's scent sending cool, soothing waves through me, I accept her expression of affection and nearly fall apart in her arms.

"It's just…so much! I only just found her again, and now…I don't know if we'll even stay together through next week!" I choke deplorably, "If only I hadn't left…"

"Don't you dare try to blame this on yourself, Edward Anthony," Esme whispers fiercely, "No choice of yours could have in any way prevented the spread of that wretched plague. Whether you were in Forks or not, we'd be in the same situation as we are right now, assuming Bella could have survived that scenario."

I had thought of this before, of course, but the idea just seems so much more logical coming from Esme's mouth. Still, this does not solve any of my problems. "And now the Volturi want Bella, and when they want something they will stop at nothing to acquire what they need," I assert hopelessly. _And I don't think compassion is going to stop them. _Memories unwillingly stolen from Carlisle and Eleazer force their way to the forefront of my mind.

Cloaked in black and gray, red eyes gleaming...

Ruthless.

"Sh," my mother soothes me, holding me close, "We'll figure it out. We always have, and we always will." An unusual growl emerges from her throat as she continues. "I've seen what our family is like when it is incomplete, and I will ensure that that _never_ happens again, or so help me I will annihilate the entire Volturi by myself."

I chuckle bleakly, shaking my head at the image of the Volturi fleeing frantically from Esme's wrath, but the reality of what would actually happen in such a situation silences me quickly.

Sensing my distress, Esme assures me, "Everything is going to be wonderful."

Touched by Esme's love, I pledge, "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, my son," she promises emotionally, "Now Bella is waiting; go to her."

We pull away from our embrace slowly, and, with a nod, I take off toward the house. What an idiot I am! Sulking in the hills while Bella waits for a fleet of vampires to kidnap her. It is as if I didn't learn anything when I ran away in September.

When I reach the house, the first thing I hear is Bella and Alice arguing.

"Oh, Alice, please! Just because I left my wardrobe back in Forks doesn't mean you can force me into _that_ thing," my love pleads disdainfully.

"It's gorgeous, Bella, and you're wearing it," my little sister asserts.

"Who have I got to impress, anyway? Is there a cocktail party later you didn't tell me about?"

"I'd say you have plenty of reasons to dress to impress. Namely, a certain vampire with golden eyes?"

"Darn it, Alice, you caught me. I've been trying to impress Jasper for a while now," Bella responds sarcastically.

"Ha ha, very funny," Alice chuckles, "I'm sure he'd just love this color on you, anyway, so you should definitely wear it."

Bella sighs and I hear her sit down. "You aren't going to let me go before I put that on, are you?"

"Never."

I fly through the entryway of my cousins' mansion, only then remembering to be stealthy; an encounter with Tanya would be especially undesirable at this point in time. Her thoughts when we first arrived had not been the most pleasant; if it came to a real fight and Tanya is as angry as she was then, I might have a difficult time distinguishing her from the enemy. Luckily, the world does not hate me as much as I once thought it did, and the strawberry blond vampire is nowhere to be seen.

I take a seat in the living area adjacent to the room Alice and Bella are in. The door opens, and I see why Alice was making such a fuss about Bella having to wear those clothes. Alice put her in a khaki skirt and dark blue blouse similar to the outfit she wore when she first visited our house. Love sweeps through my chest at the sight of her, and I smile.

I guess everything will be just fine.

**XXXXX**

**3****rd**** Person**

"You have broken the law," Jane states apathetically, her crimson eyes, dark from a week of thirst, flat and unwelcoming. Dark gray robes billowed around her small form in the wind, making her appear even more formidable.

"No, no, I'm sorry!" the aberration in question pleads frantically, "I didn't mean to do it, I just slipped. You know how it is, the thirst…"

"You knew what you were doing, did you not?"

Laurent struggles in the grip of the two Volturi guards holding him back. His eyes, bright scarlet confessions of his transgression, are wild as he flails for any possible savior. He seems to find it in his best interest not to verbally admit to what has already been so overtly proven, choosing to stall while he searches for a way out. Looking at Jane's angelic face, framed ominously by the dark gray signature of her vocation, and knowing from word of mouth the demon that lives inside the child's body, fear is omnipotent within his dry veins. The knowledge of what is inevitably coming is like a poisonous gas, thick with the concentration of the situation's hopelessness.

Laurent's screams of agony tear through the air like talons, but the beings in the dark cloaks appear undisturbed. His body convulses with the weight of his newfound pain, making his captors' jobs easier. The small female stares intensely into his scarlet irises, her envy indiscernible to all but herself

"Sister," Alec cautions her, placing a pale hand on his sister's shoulder.

Jane huffs quietly, releasing Laurent from the manacles of her power. Laurent's body sags as if in fatigue the moment relief comes. He breathes heavily, though his air intake does nothing to offer him further relief.

"You knew what you were doing," she states quietly, the slight curl of her lips the only indicator of her contempt. When the transgressor does not respond immediately, her voice rises harshly. "Didn't you?!"

The transgressor looks pleadingly into Jane's hostile glare for a short second before moving on to search her comrades' expressions for any crack in their facades. Finding none, he concedes bleakly, "I didn't mean to! I-it was an accident, you have to believe me! The human, she was just there, and I was _so_ thirsty…"

"You were completely aware of the rule and its consequences?" Jane draws out the question, painfully enunciating each word.

Laurent gulps. "Yes, but…"

"Then you know what must happen now," Jane states, a sweet smile emerging on her angelic face.

"No, please, give me another chance, please!"

"The Volturi do not give second chances," she tells him monotonously. To Laurent's terror, she begins to turn away.

As his captors' arms tighten around him and he feels their muscles tensing to tear him apart, a sudden hope at salvation pops into his mind. "No, please…I have information! Information you _need!_"

The present members of the Volturi freeze, their eyes suddenly zoned onto him with ravenous intensity.

"What was that?" Jane asks sharply, her voice rising.

"I know where you can find another human! A young, healthy female!"

In an instant, Jane's face is inches from his. "Where?" she demands coldly. After a short second of hesitation, Laurent collapses to the ground in another bout of agony. "Tell me where! And know that the Volturi do not take well to liars.

"No," Laurent gasps through the pain, "I'm telling the truth, I swear. She's in Denali, with my coven. The Cullens, they brought her from America, said she was secluded while the disease spread and wasn't exposed!"

Jane nods solemnly, her exultant satisfaction hidden to all but herself.

"Kill him."

"No, I'm telling the…"

Laurent's cries are cut off abruptly by the sharp scream of metal being ripped violently apart.

Jane turns to face her brother as Felix burns the transgressor. "Well, brother, it would appear we have a human to collect."


	9. Chapter 9

`_Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight.

_Edward arrived at the mental institution and was reunited with Bella. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves Bella was dead. The Cullen's camp was attacked, but Carlisle made a truce with the other coven's leader and they were informed of the Volturi's mandate. Next the Cullens met with the Denali coven. Meanwhile, Laurent betrayed their whereabouts to the Volturi._

**Chapter 9 (EdPOV)**

"What do you think, Bella?" Alice asks, holding up two overly fancy sweaters for my love's scrutiny. Bella, sitting next to me on the Denali's couch, looks incredibly bored.

"They both look great," Bella tells her for the eleventh time.

"Turquoise," Rosalie chimes, not looking up from her slightly outdated fashion magazine. Normally, she would have already finished flipping through the latest issue and be in the process of helping Alice place an order. No there will be no more new issues; the writers and models are all dead.

Alice nods in agreement, tossing the purple sweater into the reject pile.

Halfway through moving to pick up a new selection of blouses to pick from, Alice stops abruptly. A glance into her mind sends shivers through my undead body.

_A squad of several formidable vampires, cloaked in varying shades of gray, stick out against the expanse of snow in front of the Denali coven's home._

We have to get out of here. Despite Alice's warnings, that much is clear to me. I won't let Bella be taken by those fiends! My arms tighten around Bella in preparation to sprint out of the house, but the more rational part of my mind reminds me of the subzero temperatures outside; taking Bella out in that weather for any period of time would be similar to throwing her to Volturi without a backwards glance. Grateful for Alice's clothing obsession, I grab a nearby set of winter wear. Of course, living in Alaska, our cousins have to look like they're cold when they go out in public. I move as quickly as possible to wrap my love in a coat, hat, gloves, and boots. Thankfully, as quickly as possible for my kind is being done before Bella can even register what is happening.

Not a second later, we are out the door. I sprint in the opposite direction of wear Alice had seen the Volturi coming from. I listen faintly to Alice's explanation to my family, knowing that she unfailingly will try to stop me. Their footsteps are soon audible behind us. Bella's pulse beats wildly, but I cannot stop to comfort her sufficiently; her safety is more important.

The Volturi are already within my scope of hearing. Anger simmers within me, anger at Alice's late vision, the Volturi, and this whole situation itself. This, however, is no time for anyone to stew; this is the time to run. I search their minds calculatingly while I sprint. Jane is the first one I hear. Her mental voice is chilling and difficult to overlook, no matter how much one might wish to ignore it. I hold Bella more tightly as if she were in danger from Jane's deadly stares at this distance. Alec is the only other voice I can identify. He is more subdued than his sister, though his thoughts are no less heinous. His presence unnerves me more than his sister's—he could incapacitate us all in seconds. The others are dangerously unknown to me. My only consolation is that they are all still at least a mile away.

_Pop!_

A heavy weight plows into my side, and Bella and I tumble to the ground. Ferocious alarm comes to life inside me, and, after ensuring that she is not rattled too much by the fall, I shove Bella away. It feels like tearing my heart out from between my lungs.

An agile vampire lunges for me again, but I fight back with the ferocity of two of him. My mind is, for a few seconds, as coldly calculating as my enemy's. Battle plans and strategies fly through my mind while we quarrel. He gets in a few swift blows, but my clothing suffers most of the damage. The Volturi certainly does not entrust tasks like this to newborn pawns. Finally, I take my opponent by the shoulders, kick him to the ground, and whip his newly dismembered head across the tundra.

With a sigh of relief, I scoop Bella up again and resume my run across Alaska. A few second of quick observation, however, reveals that our true relief has yet to come. Cloaked figures are still running after us like spectral dogs. Thankfully, enemies are not the only ones pursuing us. I catch sight of Alice first, and a wave of relief falls around me like a heavy blanket. Shortly afterward Emmett, Jasper, the Denali, and company come into view.

_Stop_, someone calls, surprisingly from our side. Alice is running frantically to catch up with us, _Just stop, now!_

But how can I heed her warning? The Volturi are so close, so thirsty, and Bella is the only human around. Surely it could not be the best choice to simply stop and submit to them. I refuse to let that be the answer.

Alice, also, is apparently refusing to let me be subordinate. I have never seen anyone run as fast as she does across the snow to cut us off. Her tiny, pixie-like body is more significant than a brick wall in our path. Fire burns in her golden eyes, and she looks purely animalistic.

"Edward!" she snarls, "YOU LISTEN TO ME RIGHT NOW, OR THEY WILL _TEAR US APART, BURN THE PIECES, _AND TAKE BELLA AWAY TO DO WHATEVER THEY PLEASE WITH HER!"

Her words would not tear a gap in my plans if not for the images that come with them. Alice is not exaggerating at all. Images of my family…at the hands of the Volturi… It's too painful to watch. A new respect for my adopted sister is born within me then. To have no choice but to see outcomes like this must be wretched torture.

"That's right," she seethes, "You don't move another inch while you hope that Emmett and Rosalie can get that one's head back on, or you might have already condemned us." She stops for a second and takes a deep breath, pressing her fingers into her temples as if she has a headache.

"You might as well put Bella down," she sighs, "We're going to staying here for a while now."

The rest of our family, including the Denali coven, hurries to join us. I try not to look them in the eyes.

Listening promptly to her advice, I set Bella back on her shaky feet. She stands tensely, shivering slightly in the cold. Remorse joins the battalion of my emotions. Bella should not be outside in this weather for long.

"If you'd just stayed put like I told you to in the first place, she might be sitting on a warm couch in Denali," she snaps.

Remorse joins the battalion of emotions within me. It seems I'm always running away from my problems, but I don't think I could have done much worse this time.

"Th-they're coming, aren't they?" Bella stutters, "The Volturi?"

"Yes," I respond grimly, "They're coming."

And come they do. What begins as gray dots on the horizon quickly approaches to become a small—yet no less elite—squad of vampires. Jane is at the vanguard, her brother only a step behind. The others follow, though they could be going faster, out of respect.

"Well, well, well," Jane says apathetically as they stop a short distance from us, "It looks like your friend was telling the truth. You do have a human among you. Pity he's not here to be rewarded, but he did break the law…"

I hate Laurent. If I didn't know from Jane's thoughts that he is gone, I would certainly go after him myself.

Apparently mindreading isn't the only thing that conveys the message that something has happened to Laurent.

"_What did you do to Laurent?"_ Irina shrieks, her lips curled into a snarl and her eyes burning.

"He broke the law," Alec tells her, his tone matching his sister's, "He drank from a human in these desperate times, knowing the law."

"He confessed to committing the crime and told us about your little human," Jane adds sweetly, "And we ended him."

Alec places a hand on her shoulder. "Jane…" he cautions her.

"Alec," she responds cordially, dismissing his warning.

Irina lunges wildly for them, screaming defiantly at the idea of her mate's demise. She has been worried about him for the past few days; if Laurent hadn't betrayed us, I might feel sorry for her.

_Irina lunges for Jane, but is cut off by another member of the guard. After an animalistic scrimmage, she is viciously beheaded. Another guttural screech is heard from behind us. I hold Bella closer to me as Tanya and Kate, enraged by their sister's murder, attack the guards._

_Chaos ensues as the guards retaliate, attacking us all._

"NO!" Alice shouts, tackling Irina midstride. They wrestle on the ground for a short second before Irina's rage proves superior to my sister's, and she throws Alice away. Alice lands on her back in the snow, sliding a few feet before jumping back up.

Jasper apprehends Irina before Alice can recover. He grabs her around she shoulders and holds her back as she snarls. Tanya and Kate flit over to her, whispering soothing words to her. She collapses in their arms, a sobbing wreck.

Jane, apparently unmoved by Irina's display of grief, moves onto her reason for being here. "We have come to collect the human."

I open my mouth to respond, but Alice, having now flitted to my side, grips my arm warningly.

"We understand that," Carlisle replies, taking his rightful spot as leader of our group, "However, she is part of our family now, and we have no intention of letting her go."

"Hmm, I see…" Jane says thoughtfully, "But we do need to take her. If you won't let us…"

…**BPOV…**

White tendrils slithered toward us like snakes. My heart pounded wildly. I identify the younger boy in the group to be the source of the mist, his white hands extended hauntingly. Edward stiffens next to me and casts a pleading glance at Alice. She shakes her head at him and extends her hand to Jasper. Edward shifts to stand in front of me as if to protect me from the mist.

Then the mist meets us. Despite its fog-like appearance, it is as crippling as toxic gas. The Cullens and Denali coven freeze completely.

I close my eyes and wait for the mist to affect me too, but it never comes. After several seconds, I open my eyes again and peek out from behind Edward. The Volturi are striding slowly toward us, but my family doesn't do anything. I grab Edward's arm and shake him gently in an attempt to rouse him. When he doesn't move, I shake his arm more roughly, glancing back and forth from his frozen, grim face to the Volturi guards.

I have to do something…I'm just not sure what yet. For some reason, the mist is not affecting me as it is my family.

"Uh, wait!" I call frantically, "You really shouldn't take me! Really!"

Apparently my puny argument moves them in some way. They stop creeping toward me, at least. Speculation crosses their faces as they halt.

I decide to take advantage of their stop. "Uh, I understand the, um, importance of this mission. I am willing to go with you without being incredibly difficult. I might not be able to, uh, physically overcome you, but I can be pretty stubborn when it comes to eating or not, drinking or not, staying alive in general or not…Those important things. I would be exponentially more agreeable if you let me bring my family with me. Uhhh, plus, uh, now with humans much more, uh, scarce, they could probably give all of the vampires a few pointers on drinking animals. Th-there are some trade secrets, I'm sure, and you're certainly going to need them all. And, uh, if you're gathering all of these humans together, you're going to need a doctor."

"Absolutely n…" Jane begins.

"Of course," Alec interrupts, "I'm sure Aro would love to see his old friend again. The Cullens may come."

"But, Alec," Jane proclaims indignantly, pointing savagely in Edward's direction, "That one killed Alonzo. He must be punished."

I recoil as if I have been slapped. They can't hurt Edward! I won't go on without him again! I don't think saying I refuse to go on without him is going to placate Jane.

"He did attack us first. Edward's first instinct would have been to protect his mate, and that's what he did. It was a very surprising attack, and I think he reacted like anyone would. Plus, he can help Carlisle! He's been to medical school, uh, twice. Um, your friend's head is around here…somewhere. I think Rosalie and Emmett were going to find it. He didn't burn it or anything, so he can be put back together, right? So, really, everything is okay."

"Mate?" one guard inquires, "What mate?" I don't envy him for the glare Jane shoots him.

"Yeah, that'd be me," I tell him pleadingly, "And that's another reason I'd be _very_ upset if you did anything to him."

"Let us deliberate," Alec proclaims, seeing Jane's still defiant expression.

They turn toward each other and begin to discuss the matter too quietly for me to hear. I stare into Edward's eyes and shake his arm frantically. His eyes are moving, but they don't seem to see me. How can he not see me?

"Come on," I whisper pleadingly, "Wake up! You have to wake up!" If I thought my heart was pounding before, I now fear cardiac arrest and Carlisle isn't awake to help me.

"We have decided," Jane declare after a few of the most painful seconds of my life, "To allow Aro to pass verdict in Volterra. You will come over to us, Alec will awaken them, and we will journey to Volterra."

I breathe out a huge sigh of relief and throw my arms around the frozen Edward. I don't know much about this Aro character, but Jane seems disappointed, so this is probably a good burn my eyes, but I blink them away quickly before they can freeze on my face. With the majority of the danger averted, the frigid air penetrates my previously preoccupied mind and envelopes me like a heavy blanket of needles. My shivering resumes—if it ever stopped, which I doubt.

Not wanting to evoke any more anger from the Volturi guards, I reluctantly pull away from my love. The snow crunches beneath my feet as I turn to face my new captors. I wrestle my facial muscles into remaining stoic as I walk toward them. I cross my arms across my chest in a futile attempt to get warm. It is almost a physical pain not to look backward as I go.

I shiver more violently as I come to stand behind Jane. My throat clogs as I see the Cullens, as still as the statues they resemble, looking vulnerable against the wide expanse of snow that stretches out beyond them. I close my eyes for several seconds, holding back tears again.

"Bella!" Edward's beautiful voice makes me jump hopefully. My eyes fly open, and I am filled with pleasure to see the rest of the Cullens and him animate again. I smile and wave halfheartedly.

Edward steps forward, his hand outstretched as if reaching for me despite the large gap between us. In the same second, the six other Cullens all have a cautioning hand on him. The tortured expression on his face breaks my heart.

"We have made a decision," Jane announces, "You will all accompany us to Volterra where Aro will decide what to do with you."

_Author's note: I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter. I did really leave you hanging last time, and I shouldn't have. This chapter was rather difficult to write for me; I had to totally rewrite it. The next few should come relatively quickly now that that's over. Thanks for hanging in there! We reached fifty reviews last chapter, and that's a really great landmark. Let's see if maybe, just maybe, we could pretty please reach sixty this time? Have a happy new year, and, even if you don't review, __**thanks for reading! **_

_Review prompt: How do you think the Volturi's plan is going to work out?_


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight.

_Edward arrived at the mental institution and was reunited with Bella. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves Bella was dead. The Cullen's camp was attacked, but Carlisle made a truce with the other coven's leader and they were informed of the Volturi's mandate. Next the Cullens met with the Denali coven. Meanwhile, Laurent betrayed their whereabouts to the Volturi. The Volturi returned to Denali and took Bella, agreeing to let the Cullens accompany them to Volterra after some quick thinking on Bella's part._

**Chapter 10 (BPOV)**

"Bella," a velvet voice whispers in my ear, "Bella, love, it's time for you to awake."

A cold hand gently strokes my hair, and I lean contentedly into the touch. I yawn as I open my eyes to look into his beautiful golden eyes. Sure enough, I am met by the familiar gaze of my beloved, but the background startles me. I blink several times as if the generic plane interior were the product of a lingering dream.

My heart contorts as memories of the previous day return to me. Running through the frigid Alaska air in Edward's arms, the Cullens cut off from the world, forcing me to fight for my own life against beings who could snap my neck before I could utter the slightest protest. I throw my arms around Edward's neck, recalling how close I had come to being taken from him forever.

"We've arrived in Volterra, love," he tells me, "If you want to sleep, I can carry you to the car."

"No, I'll walk," I protest immediately, stumbling to my feet. I'd tried so hard to make the Volturi see me as a strong person, and I don't want them thinking I need to be carried.

Edward stands with me and takes my hand. "A car is waiting for us outside to take us to the Volturi's castle. The guards have already gone ahead to alert Aro of our arrival. They'll be waiting for us when we get there."

I shudder at the thought of being trapped inside their lair. "Don't worry," my beloved assures me, "They won't hurt you; I won't let them."

He leads me swiftly down the aisle to the door to the outside. I squint at the bright sun revealed from the outside until my eyes adjust. I survey the land around me. We are on the outskirts of the city that I assume is Volterra. A nondescript black car is waiting a few feet from the steps. I notice that the chauffer sparkles, finding humor in the observation at first before remembering where our glittering driver is taking us. Then my eyes lock on the vampire beside me, and it's all I can do to keep my jaw from falling open in awe.

What good deed did I do to deserve him?

He pulls me gently down the steps and, like the gentleman he was born and raised to be, opens the car door for me. I blush at his gesture and slide into the back seat. He slides in beside me and wraps his arm around my shoulders protectively. I smile and lean into his embrace as the engine purrs to life.

I always expected that if I ever traveled to Europe, the cities would be bustling with festivities and people. Though I know that I will probably never see a city like that, I was still a little disappointed. Of course, if you'd asked me about going abroad last summer, I would have expressed a desire to go to France on vacation with Edward. My life is just full of black holes and revelations now, I suppose. There are no people on the streets of Volterra. My stomach twists as I think of the vampiric clean up crew they must have sent out before my arrival; bodies would have been terribly unattractive and frightening to the incoming humans the Volturi are expecting.

As we drive, I picture the people who might have lived here a few days ago. Children playing outside. Expecting mothers picking out names for the children who would now never know life or pain. As we move into the commercial part of town, my visions change. Young women shopping. College students studying abroad here or college students visiting their families on spring break. Men working in the tiny shops, their families waiting for them at home. Teenagers laughing with their friends. Small children peeking in the windows of toy shops. The people gradually switch from figments conjured up purposefully by my mind to phantoms that won't go away. I can't _not_ see them.

Finally, the car stops and the phantoms fizzle away like the smoke of a candle. The streets are empty yet again, and a castle looms ahead of us. I grab Edward's hand and glance up at him for confirmation of what I already know.

"We're here," he mutters bleakly, moving slowly to open the car door for us without releasing my hand. He pushes it open with his free hand and leads me onto the sidewalk. The car pulls away a moment after I step onto the sidewalk, leaving Edward and I alone at the base of the castle.

"Ah, Edward, my dear, dear friend!" a vampire in a black cloak exclaims, materializing seemingly out of nowhere in the entryway, "How great it is to see you!"

"The pleasure is mine, Aro," Edward responds cordially.

So this is Aro, one of the three leaders of the Volturi. Upon further inspection, I recognize him from the painting in Carlisle's study. Strangely, I feel a twinge of sympathy for the vampire who used to murder on a regular routine, sent his guards to round up all of the humans, holds the life of my family in his hands, and will probably never let me leave this place alive. From the millennia he has been in existence, he has never seen a crisis such as this. There are a great number of vampires in the world now, and all but twelve depend on the now nearly extinct human race as their food source. Now he's stuck with finding a way to appease them or risk an uprising.

"And you've brought your little human friend! Your family has told me much about her. To think, a vampire and a human in love! Fascinating…" he trails off before shaking his head, "It's too bad this had to happen. We could learn so much. Of course, I'm glad you care for this young one, or else she would not be here with us today. Why don't you come in? Your family is waiting inside."

"Thank you, Aro," Edward says blandly, leading me to the grand entrance Aro had propped open.

Just as he said, the rest of the Cullen family is sparkling just beyond the entryway along with several other cloaked vampires. Edward pulls me me to stand between him and Jasper, holding me closer to himself protectively.

"Now that we're all together, we can discuss the future. We will begin of that of the young human there," Aro says, pointing to me, "You said that she is your son Edward's mate, Carlisle?" As if he needed clarification.

"Undoubtedly."

"But, as I'm sure you can understand, we need every human we can get now. These are desperate times, my old friend," Aro says gravely.

"Yes, Aro, we understand that. And I'm sure you understand the tie of mates. You have seen and heard it countless times, as well as experienced it for yourself. That is the tie between my son and Bella. I implore that you please consider not tearing them apart. Bella is like a daughter to me, just like Alice and Rosalie. Please do not do this to my family," Carlisle pleads.

For several excruciating seconds, the beating of my heart is the only sound in the room. I do not even breathe as Aro contemplates this.

"I believe I will…consider it," Aro says slowly, "I will need to see what results my guard's search yields before I make any decisions like that. For now I see no reason for you to be separated from her. I do, however, suggest that you let Gianna lead the young one to the humans' quarters. There will be all of the amenities she could want there, so she will be comfortable while we discuss other aspects of the future."

A human woman, the first human I've seen since I was locked in a room in the asylum, steps out from behind a few guards and offers me her hand. I look up at Edward. His mouth is open as if to object, and his eyes flit back and forth from me to Gianna to Aro. Finally, he breathes a sigh and nods encouragingly to me. Reluctantly, I release his hand and cross the room to stand with the human woman I assume is Gianna. I take her hand warily, and I listen to the conversation as she leads me down the corridor.

"Ah, splendid. Now, Carlisle, dear friend, I do believe I am in need of your expertise. I never thought I would utter these words, but I'm afraid I must ask if you would show us how to hunt _animals,_" Aro asks, his disdain obvious in the way he emphasizes the last word, "It's only temporary, of course. We plan on regularly drawing blood from the humans we collect and forming a blood bank for the vampires until the humans have repopulated enough that we can resume are normal ways. This, however, will not be enough for the entire vampire race. We will need to learn to hunt animals if we wish to be fed. Will you and your family teach us?"

"Of course, Aro," Carlisle agrees with a polite smile, "I would be happy to." Eagerness to share his knowledge shines in his golden eyes.

Then Gianna and I round the corner, and I can no longer make out their words. My chest aches, moaning about their lack of presence here. I turn my head slightly to look at this human Gianna. A small smile is plastered on her face, her blood red lipstick looking quite unnatural on what I can tell is a foundation base. Questions pop up in my head about her origins. How did she survive the disease when so many didn't? How can she look so happy right now? Hadn't she lost at least someone to the disease? How is she so comfortable around vampires? Does she know their secret?

"I think you'll enjoy our accommodations, Miss…" she trails off, looking to me for my name.

"Bella," I reply quietly, not meeting her eyes, "My name is Bella."

"Well, Bella, you'll find in the humans' quarters plenty of food and water as well as places to wash up and sleep. I'm sure you're quite tired after your long ride here. You'll have company as well. Humans have been trickling in from far and wide for the last few days as the guard finds more. They're a quite interesting bunch, if I do say so myself."  
I find it odd that she speaks as if this is some sort of impromptu summer camp, not a new human prison/farm. I eye her suspiciously. She must know that she is not exempt from this new prison. However she might serve them now, her only destiny can be that of the rest of us: death to quench a vampire's thirst for a week or two.

The halls of the castle are not horror-movie-scary like I had thought they would be. They remind me of a few movies of seen in the past, with castles and princesses and dungeons and dragons. Of course, in that scenario, I'd be on my way to the dungeon. Glorious art—probably all from another century—adorns the walls, making this place seem even more regal. Our footsteps echo slightly as we move forward.

"Here we are," Gianna announces proudly as we round another corner and come to a huge set of double doors. She deftly slides open the deadbolt and sends the doors open with a neat shove.

The room that greets us might have been a large parlor at some point, meant for meeting important guests and holding small parties. Buffet tables full of exotic fruits, pastries, and meats line the crème wall to my left. Several couches are arranged nearby, obviously set up in a manner to promote social interaction. The wall to my left is lined with several antique book cases. The leather-bound books pique my curiosity. What secret stories they might hold… Roughly twenty humans are spread out sparsely around the room, all very obviously keeping to themselves. The moment the doors open with a grand swing, all of their eyes shoot up to stare at us. I shrink in on myself, taking a small step backward, as the feeling of being a spectacle creeps into me.

I am vaguely aware of Gianna clearing her throat in front of me. I continue to survey the room until she speaks again. "Well, go on then. They don't bite," she instructs me sharply, smiling creepily in a way that was obviously meant to be menacing.

Skittishly, I step forward, glancing back down the hallway, half hoping Edward would come bounding down it in search of me.

_Whack!_ My search is rewarded with a grand door slammed rudely in my face. Panic spiking in my chest, I lunge for the door handles, yanking on them furiously, to no avail. Sighing in defeat, I resignedly turn around to face the known remainder of my race.

It would appear I am truly, undeniably trapped.

_Authors note: Sorry for the wait, guys! Midterms kind of snuck up on me...one minute, I had all this free time to write, and the next people are telling me to study for tests worth twenty percent of my semester grade! One of you commented that I said reviews made me review faster; please allow me to clarify: reviews inspire me, but I do not post chapters based on how many reviews I get. I post chapters when I finish them, not a moment sooner and not a day later. I really appreciated all of the reviews. I think we're up to 65 now! Plus 44 followers and 20 favorites…But who's counting? ;-) Please tell me what you thought and consider responding to the review prompt below.  
Review prompt: How could Bella possibly weasel out of this one? How do you think some of the other people survived the disease?_


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight.

_Edward arrived at the mental institution and was reunited with Bella. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves Bella was dead. The Cullen's camp was attacked, but Carlisle made a truce with the other coven's leader and they were informed of the Volturi's mandate. Next the Cullens met with the Denali coven. Meanwhile, Laurent betrayed their whereabouts to the Volturi. The Volturi returned to Denali and took Bella, agreeing to let the Cullens accompany them to Volterra after some quick thinking on Bella's part. They arrived in Volterra, where Aro agreed to consider their argument about Bella, who was led to the human quarters._

**Chapter 11 (BPOV)**

If I were a more social person, I might say something right now. I probably should. Announce myself, say, "Hi, my name is Bella; it's a pleasure to meet all of you." Give my fellow inmates a new first impression, you know? After all, these are the people I am bound to spend the duration of my life with. But, of course, I've never had that much social tact.

Instead, I freeze against the door for several seconds, my eyes wide, mouth agape, and face cherry. After several agonizing seconds of resembling very closely a performer who was in the middle of the stage and realized he had forgotten his pants, I tentatively begin to shuffle toward the food. Their eyes follow me as I take a pastry and being to nibble. I wish feverishly that I could blend in with the wall or become a shadow.

I scurry over to the nearest couch and sit self consciously, crossing my ankles like some teacher from an etiquette class Renee once insisted we attend together told me to. I keep my eyes fixated on my lap until a boy's voice makes me jump.

"Oh, well isn't that wonderful? Another survivor has joined our ranks," a boy reclining on the couch just across from mine proclaims with a slight English accent. When my head snaps up to look at him, I wonder if the term boy really applies. The brown-haired male must be as old as me, if not older. He has a square jaw and thin lips curled up in a smirk, and his eyes, a simmering blue, make me instantly wary of him.

"So, how'd you avoid kicking the bucket, babe?" he asks lowly, leaning toward me as I lean back.

"Oh, shut up Conner!" the girl next to him reprimands him, striking him upside the head. Then she turns to me and smiles. "Sorry about my brother. He can be a bit of a . . . jerk, sometimes. And to think, he was so sweet when he was two."

I still can't bring myself to speak, so I wave dismissively at her in an attempt to convey that all is forgiven.

"My name is Rowling, by the way," she introduces herself, offering me her hand, "Jennifer Rowling. No relation to the author."

"I wish," her brother snorts from beside her, "Can you imagine the cars we could buy with that kind of money?"

"If you could avoid harassing the bank tellers long enough to not make us get kicked out of the bank."

"Sister," he gasps in mock horror, his hand flying to his heart, "I have never harassed a soul in my life! Have I talked to girls? Yes. But your accusation hits home, Sis, really."

Jennifer only rolls her eyes at him before turning back to me. "So, how did you survive?" she inquires gravely, her jade green eyes mystified pools of curiosity.

All of the attention in the room is suddenly turned to us. Jennifer's question has struck some cord with our fellows, a cord that brings the unwelcome eyes back to my burning face. I glance around the room warily, as if I expected them to all unite and attack us any moment.

My mouth opens to respond, but the weight of her question knocks the words right out of my throat. What could I possibly say to these people whose loved ones have died? I can't imagine telling them about being locked in an asylum for suicidal tendencies would help them like me. No, I really can't see that going over well . . .

"I know how I survived," some guy in his mid-twenties sighs, rescuing me, "My girlfriend and I were trekking around Europe in between cities to meet up with my best bud Cheese where he was studying abroad. Spring break for us, y'know? We spent a few days in the woods, and, when we got to Paris, poof! Nothin' there but bodies. After a few days of lookin' for Cheese with zero luck, those freaky dudes grabbed us."

"My brother and I," a man with a heavy Russian accent slowly begins from across the room, "were hunting. Second day, bear attack me. Christoff go for help, and he never come back. These Volturi find me bleeding and bring here." The large man shakes his head, cringing when something hurts. He rubs his shoulder tentatively. "They no doctors here."

"I just got lost," a meek woman says meekly from where she sits in the corner, "I was driving to my aunt's house in North Dakota, but I took the wrong road. Before I knew it, I was out of gas, and I was stranded in the fields for days. I eventually came across a farm house, but the owners were d-dead, and no one would answer the ph-phone. I was wondering outside again when _they _found me." She shivers at the last thought, and I sympathize with her internally.

The silence after the woman's story lasts for several moments before an old woman speaks up. Her white hair falls loosely around her stiff shoulders, and I feel a sort of automatic respect for her. "I didn't even know anything was happening," she tells us quietly, and everyone seems to lean closer to listen, "I live alone, you see? I find the mountains very peaceful. I was gardening, just like any other day, when they came for me. Very rude, they were. Feeding me this ludicrous story about some super-plague killing billions. My automatic assumption was that they were telling me a falsehood. Then they demand I go with them, leaving the home I've lived in since my Herald died. I showed them my shotgun and told them I would not stand for it, but they took me here anyway." She sighs regretfully, shaking her head. "Now, of course, I see that they were telling the truth."

We all look around for another person to volunteer their story, but a high-pitched wail echoes from the corner. I jump in my seat, whipping my head around to see a little girl hiding behind the buffet table. She must not be more than four or five, maybe younger. Her blond tresses are tangled in a mess around her head, and her red face is streaked with tears. Panicking, I wonder how no one ever noticed her before. Her cry awakens an innate maternal instinct inside of me, and I, along with several other women, jump up to comfort the distressed child. Though I am the closest, several somehow get to her before me. The small group of women converges around her before I am halfway there, and, feeling useless, stand at the edge of the group, nervously searching for something I could do to help the child. Channeling all of my knowledge of children picked up from movies and experiences with Renee's students, I think of what might cheer up a child. My eyes lock on a chocolate cupcake on the buffet table, and I know that this is the best way I can contribute. I swipe the sweet and timidly push through the women to reach the girl.

"Here," I offer her with faux cheerfulness, "I have a cupcake for you. It's, uh, chocolate!"

But the girl pays to attention to me. "I-I want my mommy!" she wails as one of the women pulls her into her arms and hushes her soothingly.

Feeling overwhelmed and inadequate, I rush away from the group and put the cupcake back in its place before plopping back down on the couch. I run my fingers through my hair quickly, trying in vain to block out the child's cries and wondering imploringly where my Edward has gone. I bury my face in my hands until her shrieks quiet to gentle sobbing.

After that entire ruckus has died down, Jennifer speaks. "I honestly don't know how my brother and I survived. We lived in the middle of London. Our family and friends caught ill, but we . . . just stayed healthy. Never even coughed once. Our neighbors, friends, and family just, well, _died_ around us. After that, we waited around to die to, but we never did." She stares at some point above my shoulder for the duration of her speech, her eyes wide with her memories of the last few days. My heart aches for her. It must have been terrible, watching everyone die like that. It's difficult enough for me just _knowing_ that everyone I ever knew or cared for is most likely dead now.

"What about you?" Conner asks petulantly, "We told you our story; now you tell us yours."

I bite my lip, pondering what to say to them. I glance fleetingly at the door, wondering how incognito this whole vampire thing is right now. If I give away the Volturi's secret when I'm not supposed to, they definitely won't let me spend eternity with my beloved. Sacrificing me to sate the populace's wild thirst is more likely. Lying is out; I'd never get away with it. Sticking as closely to the truth as possible would be my best bet, no matter how ashamed I am of that truth.

"I was having some, er, trouble. I was, uh, admitted to an, um, institution, and I was in, uh, solitary confinement when everything went down," I explain hurriedly, unable to tear my eyes from the designer boots Alice forced me in before we left Alaska.

"So, translation: you were locked up in the loony bin in a cell when all this went down?" Jennifer asks dryly.

"Yes," I whisper meekly.

"For what, might I ask?"

"Er, um, suicidal tendencies," I responds as quickly as I can, hoping sincerely that she wouldn't inquire further.

"Oh, the irony!" exclaims Conner, waving his hands in the air, "Of all the people in the world, _you_ survive! And all the people I watched _die,_ who wanted so badly to live, suffocate, or hemorrhage, or whatever, and _you_, the crazy one who actually _wanted_ to die, is sitting here talking to me right now!" He laughs hysterically, his eyes gleaming with a sick gleam.

I sink further into my seat, ashamed and frightened. "I want to live now…" I defend myself meekly.

He jumps up from his seat and sticks his face out inches from mine, practically snarling as he shouts at me. "Listen here, you selfish little…"

The wooden doors are flung open with a resounding boom, and I think the wood actually cracks as it slams into the walls. My bronze haired angel is holding Conner up by the shirt before the doors have time to shut.

"If you _ever_ speak to her that way again, I will personally tear you limb from limb. Do you understand me?!" he hisses menacingly. The boy blubbers for a few moments. "I said, _do you understand me?!"_

"Y-y-eah, man, uh, sorry, I mean, I didn't mean to o-offend you or anyth…" he sputters, shaking in Edward's grip.

Edward quite literally throws him onto the couch beside his sister, where he stays. He brings his feet against his chest and cowers into the seat in an attempt to get as far away from my vampire as possible. His sister glances from her brother to Edward repeatedly, her looks alternating from intense concern to disgusted rage.

Then Edward turns to me, and I forget them completely. He releases the full force of his golden eyes on me, and I melt. He sits beside me on the couch and pulls me protectively into his lap, never taking his eyes off of me. I wrap my arms around his neck and inhale deeply, welcoming his familiar scent.

"I missed you," I murmur into his chest.

"And I you," he sighs, holding me closer.

"We spoke to Aro, and he has definitely agreed to consider your changing," he explains lowly, "We just need to wait and see how many humans they can bring in. They expect to find a lot more once they can organize more search parties. For now at least, we'll definitely be together. He has agreed that we will definitely be useful in this new era, so we will be allowed to stay."

"Oh, thank goodness!" I utter shakily.

He brings his lips to mine, and I completely forget the humans surrounding and the situation outside of these walls.

We are quite rudely interrupted by Jennifer's exclamation. "What are you doing with that _thing?"_ she spits at me.

Edward brings his lips slowly from mine, and I take in a wild gasp of air before turning to face her. Her brother is still cowering beside her, and her hand is placed protectively on his shoulder as she grimaces in disgust. I notice that the rest of the room is recoiling from us in horror as well.

I guess they know what vampires are, then.

_Authors note: I see this whole "soon" promise isn't working out. How about this? I'll swear to you right now that I will have the next chapter up by Saturday. That gives me a deadline and you something to watch for. If it's not done by Saturday, you guys can yell at me all I want. Thank you for your patience._

_Review prompt: What do you think of the pool of survivors so far? Opinions on Jennifer and Conner? Any idea what happened to that little girl?_


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight.

_Edward arrived at the mental institution and was reunited with Bella. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves Bella was dead. The Cullen's camp was attacked, but Carlisle made a truce with the other coven's leader and they were informed of the Volturi's mandate. Next the Cullens met with the Denali coven. Meanwhile, Laurent betrayed their whereabouts to the Volturi. The Volturi returned to Denali and took Bella, agreeing to let the Cullens accompany them to Volterra after some quick thinking on Bella's part. They arrived in Volterra and Bella met the other survivors; the survivors were shocked and appalled when Edward entered._

**Chapter 12 (BPOV)**

I blush and clear my throat before responding to Jennifer's question. "This is my boyfriend, Edward."

"But…but, that thing is one of them!" she exclaims, sneering.

"Yes, _Edward_ is a vampire," I respond, emphasizing that he does have a name, "And he's also the most wonderful person I have ever met."

Jennifer glances between Edward and me warily before speaking again. "Okay then," she says disbelievingly, "So maybe your boyfriend can tell us what exactly is going on here."

"You should ask him," I prompt her sharply, annoyed at her lack of politeness and empowered by Edward's presence.

"Er, alright then," she sighs before turning to my beloved and asking with faux-confidence, "Well, why have you brought us all here?"

Edward, the eternal gentleman, explains gravely, "First of all, I did not bring you anywhere. This was not my idea, nor is it under any of my control. The ones behind this are called the Volturi. They have ruled the vampire world in secret for millennia, making sure the secret of our existence was kept. Most vampires, you see, used to feed on humans. This was perfectly legal, as humans are our natural food source. Some, however, choose to deviate from that path. My family, for example, drinks the blood of animals instead. Now it looks like all vampires are going to have to switch to that diet, what with humans being a now endangered species and all that. Unfortunately, that will not satisfy them forever; in fact, we'll be lucky if the Volturi can prevent them from storming the castle if they are kept waiting for too long."

The humans in the room are silent for several minutes while they digest this new information. Even I, who knew or could have guessed all of this information already, am silent as I contemplate what this means for us all. I think of the rest of the vampire race storming this castle makes me shiver slightly. It is only too easy to envision the monsters flooding this very room and fighting over us for our blood until nothing remains.

The old woman steps up to address Edward next, taking the place of a very stunned Jennifer. "So you mean to tell us that the only reason we are being kept alive is so that we can be eaten in good time." It is not a question.

Edward nods grimly, petting my hair. "Yes, but understand that my family and I will try our hardest to make your lives as easy as possible. I doubt they will kill you. They will keep you alive, taking a little blood at a time until you die of old age."

"But when we die there will be no more…" Jennifer begins, before her eyes widen in understanding. "Oh."

"That's essentially it, yes," Edward tells her, confirming something in her thoughts.

Jennifer's eyebrows knit together in frustrated confusion. "How did you…"

"I can read minds," he tells her flatly, not wanting to make a big deal out of it.

Most people in the room are not nearly as shocked as I'd expect them to be. If they weren't still trying to come to terms with their own fates, this definitely would have caused a larger uproar. Instead, only a few people even look surprised. Jennifer shakes her head slowly, and I can practically see the figurative overload meter flashing above her head.

I take advantage of their distraction to inquire about my personal situation. "What exactly did they say about my…renovations?" Edward had touched on this earlier, but I feel like he was leaving out something important.

His gaze returns to my face, his golden eyes soft. He caresses my cheek with a pale finger and whispers, "We'll discuss that soon, love, when we're alone." He glances up at the others in the room for a short second. His cold hands trap mine. "Come, we'll go to where we'll be staying."

I tilt my head to the side. I had assumed I would be staying where the other humans were staying, but I should have known Edward would not allow that. I smile, relieved that I will not have to be separated from Edward for any longer than demanded by the constraints of his hunting and my human moments. Of course, if I have my way, we'll be hunting together very shortly.

He stands and pulls me to my feet along with him, wrapping his arm protectively around my waist as we stride toward the door. I am aware of people rushing toward the door as he opens it, but we are out and the door is sealed shut before they are halfway there. A pang of shame clutches my chest as I glance back at the closed door. It feels like we are sealing them inside of their execution room, but I know that they are safer in there than they would be out here.

As soon as we are out of view of the humans, we are running. Or, more accurately, Edward is running with me in his arms. I throw my arms around his neck as soon as I realize what is going on and close my eyes in an effort to prevent the horrible motion sickness that comes with this experience.

Edward stops smoothly and plants a gentle kiss on my forehead before setting me down on my wobbly feet. His family is waiting for us in a narrow hallway, tired smiles on their faces as we approach.

"Bella!" Alice exclaims, dashing up to give me a hug, "I missed you."

I laugh jubilantly, glad to see my sister again as well. "Alice, it's only been, what, twelve hours?"

Alice pulls back and gives my outfit a once over. Then she nods solemnly and tells me, "Fourteen and a half hours since I've seen you, and a whole _fifteen hours_ since you changed your clothes last. You, missy, are lucky I packed for this."  
"They seem to be quite the variety, Carlisle," Edward says, responding to his father's mental question.

"No similarities at all? Age, ethnicity, blood type…" Carlisle inquires out loud for the benefit of everyone else.

Edward shakes his head. "Not that I noticed. Ages range from four months to ninety-three years. It's too late to say anything about ethnicity since the Volturi has yet to search every country. They have blood of all types, from A positive to O negative like Bella's. Most of their presence seems to be a result of lucky circumstances. There were at least two, though, who seemed to have been genuinely immune to the disease. They're young adult and late teenage siblings from London," he explains to Carlisle.  
"Fascinating," Carlisle muses, his eyes shining, "I wonder if further study of them could lead to a vaccine…"

The conversation goes on, becoming more and more difficult for me to understand as they get more and more technical. Everyone joins in, and, though I struggle to use my basic knowledge of Spanish to decipher some of their foreign terms, I am unable to comprehend anything they are saying. I do notice, however, how Carlisle lights up when new ideas come up and he considers them and how Rosalie comments more than I thought she would. In my entire time to have known the blond vampire, I don't think she has ever even said a word to me. I sigh at the thought; perhaps Rosalie will just never like me.

Alice is apparently the only one to notice my preoccupation. She smiles wickedly. "Come on, you need to see your new closet," she orders, tugging on my hand.

"Aw, Alice, no!" I whisper, not wanting to disturb the intense conversation happening around us, "Can't you let me have some peace? It's been a long day."

Alice raises her eyebrows at me mockingly. "You're really complaining to me about long days? Now, come on, I've got your new closet all set up!"

I sigh, defeated, and allow Alice to drag me away from my life and straight into the purgatory known as a Bella Barbie makeover, courtesy of Alice. She pulls me into a regal guestroom with all of the amenities a human would need. I wonder idly why a vampire would need a bed and full size bathroom, but I want this to be over with as quickly as possible and it's in my best interest, so I don't ask. Instead, I think about the incredibly gorgeous vampire waiting for me outside the door.

"Okay, Bella, take these clothes, and go take a shower. You'll find everything you need in there," Alice directs me, handing me a bundle shooing me toward the bathroom I'd noticed before.

"Yes, ma'am," I tell her, saluting her playfully as I trudge into the bathroom.

As soon as the door is gently shut behind me, I sigh, secretly thankful for this opportunity for privacy. I need to think about all that has been going on here, and a hot shower should be just the thing to help me calm down. I find that the shower and bathtub are the same fixture, which should not be a problem. Once I'm standing inside, however, I experience one of those awkward moments of utter stupidity. I can't figure out how to make the shower come on and not the bath. I fiddle around with the knobs until I'm shivering while my feet are in lukewarm. The words "hot" and "cold" are written Italian, forcing me to rely on trial and error. I continue to mess around, until a forceful jet of ice water punches me from overhead. I shriek in surprise and jump back. My clumsiness does not fail me; I slip on the wet floor of the tub and fall roughly on me back, my head crashing against the wall. Apparently I kick something on my way down, because the water spouting from the shower head abruptly stops. It's really too bad I don't know how I switched the water source. I groan in defeat and embarrassment, rubbing my head tentatively as I sit up.

_I probably don't need a shower that much anyway,_ I mentally lie to myself, _Alice will just have to get over herself and let me be dirty._

"Bella, get back in there right now," Alice barks through the door.

"Come on, Alice! Please just let me be dirty for one day. Haven't I suffered enough?" I plead.

"Bella, trust me. You really, _really_ want to shower right now," Alice insists.

"Last time I checked, mind control wasn't your superpower," I mumble dryly, knowing Alice can hear me through the door.

"Just push the bathtub spout in and the water will come out of the showerhead," Alice instructs me impatiently.

Anger pulses through me. "You couldn't have told me that ten minutes ago?!" I exclaim indignantly. Alice doesn't respond, and I hear the door click as if being locked from the outside. I mutter profanity under my breath for several seconds as I get up to shower.

As soon as I am clean, I pick up the ensemble Alice picked out for me. A knee-length ,white gown with magnificent, dark blue designs awaits me. I stare at if for several seconds, wondering what in the world Alice could have in mind for me to do tonight that would require such a dress. Shaking my head, I slip the thing on. Who knows what Alice is thinking? Well, besides Edward, anyway. Once fully decent, I check the doorknob suspiciously and find that Alice unlocked it at some point. I creep out slowly, hoping when I know that there is no hope that I will be able to sneak past Alice.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Bella, did you really think you could sneak past me? I'm hurt. Are makeovers really that bad?" I should have known Alice wouldn't let me off this easily. Her puppy dog face is impossible to ignore.

"No, they aren't that bad," I concede, "But I still don't enjoy them."

"Just visit your happy place," she advises me as she guides me to an antique-looking vanity, "You'll be really glad you allowed this later."

"I'm sure," I murmur sarcastically, closing my eyes and attempting to find my happy place while her pale hands fly around my head.

It feels like very little time passes before Alice announces, "Ah, my masterpiece is complete!" I open my eyes slowly and peer at the woman who must be me in the mirror. My hair is arranged in intricate braids on top of my head. My makeup has been expertly done, courtesy of Alice. I reach my hands up to trace my cream cheek, but Alice stops my hand in midair. "Don't do that; you'll ruin your new face."

"It's beautiful, Alice," I whisper, astounded, "I look amazing. You've outdone yourself this time. Seriously."

"Aw, well, it was the best I could do without a shopping mall," she sighs, shaking her head sadly, "I'm really going to miss those things. How am I supposed to stay fashionable now?"

"I'm sure you could build and stock as many shopping malls as you want. Maybe this will be a new start for you. If you act fast, you could become the fashion expert of the new vampire world. Start your own clothing line and cater to all of the newly vegetarian vampires," I suggest, smiling widely at the image. I have no doubt in my mind that she could actually do it.

Alice's eyes widen at the idea too. Her golden orbs glaze over for several seconds before she turns to beam at me. "That's actually a spectacular idea."

"Glad I could be of service," I laugh, happy to have made her happy.

Alice laughs too. Then she shakes her head and refocuses. "Now, you need to go see Edward. He's waiting for you," she orders me, that wicked grin stretching across her face again. I sense the level of her exuberance, and I somehow doubt it is all because of my shopping mall idea.

Alice is definitely plotting something.

_Author's note: Well, there you have it. It's right on time too, maybe even a little early. See, I can be punctual. The next chapter will be out by next Friday, maybe a little before. This chapter is more of a filler chapter than anything, and the next one will be very necessary fluff._

_Review prompt: What could Alice be plotting this time?_


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight.

_Edward arrived at the mental institution and was reunited with Bella. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves Bella was dead. The Cullen's camp was attacked, but Carlisle made a truce with the other coven's leader and they were informed of the Volturi's mandate. Next the Cullens met with the Denali coven. Meanwhile, Laurent betrayed their whereabouts to the Volturi. The Volturi returned to Denali and took Bella, agreeing to let the Cullens accompany them to Volterra after some quick thinking on Bella's part. They arrived in Volterra and Bella met the other survivors; the survivors were shocked and appalled when Edward entered._

**Chapter 13 (BPOV)**

It is with a knowing smile and thumbs up from Alice that I slowly open the door.

Edward is waiting for me outside the door, just like Alice said and as gorgeous as ever. Apparently someone has gotten to him too, judging by his sleek suit. He smiles his crooked smile when I peek out of the doorway, and my eyes lock on his face as I analyze his reaction to what Alice has done to me. I am pleased with my observations. The only parallel I can draw is the way he looked at me after Alice had finished her prom preparations on me; I smile at the memory, however out of place it may seem in this new place.

"Well," I say, deciding to take advantage of Alice's hard work and twirling slightly, "What do you think?"

"You look positively stunning," he compliments me, golden eyes shining.

Unable to keep up my Alice-esque behavior for long, I blush at his comment. His cool fingers brush my cheek gently, only causing me to blush more profusely.

He chuckles good-naturedly as his hand moves to take my hand. "Are you ready?" he asks excitedly.

I tilt my head to the side in confusion before craning my head back toward the door. Alice. I had a feeling she wasn't just dressing me up like this to catch up with the Cullens. I rack my brains for some occasion that she might have had in mind, but I come up blank. "Okay," I admit bashfully, "You lost me."

"I, Miss Swan, am taking you out to dinner on this fine evening," he tells me pleasantly, offering me his hand in a grand gesture.

Hiding my surprise and curiosity, I place my hand in his. "And where might we be going on this so very fine evening, Mister Cullen?"

"It's a surprise," he replies slyly, bending forward to kiss my extended hand softly.

I look at him imploringly. "Come one, you know how I hate surprises," I beg.

"Trust me, you'll like this one," he advises me smoothly, "I want you to close your eyes. I'm going to have to carry you there; it'd be quite the walk for a human."

Sighing reluctantly, I close my eyes as he sweeps me into his arms bridal style. I recline trustfully in his arms, relishing in the feel of the wind as we speed through the halls. A smile stretches across my face as I remember the first time he ran with me nearly a year ago. Things were so different then, more complicated in ways and simpler in others. There was nothing stopping us from being together then, except for Edward's self-enforced limitations, while now there is a coven of vampire royalty saying that for us to be together forever would be a terrible crime. On the other hand, our relationship is so much easier now. Even after months of separation, we are incredibly close. That day in the meadow, I could hardly get close to Edward without having to worry about whether or not it would become too much for him.

"You can open your eyes now," Edward tells me gently, his face dangerously close to mine. Doing as he says, my eyes flutter open. My lungs lose all ability to function for several seconds as I gaze into his smoldering golden eyes with awe. I am only aware of how close Edward's face is to mine.  
He leans in slowly and his lips almost touch mine before we are very rudely interrupted.

"Greetings, lovers, my name is Emmett and I will be your server on this fine evening," a very familiar voice proclaims boomingly, causing both Edward and me to jump.

"Was that really necessary, Emmett?" Edward sighs, setting me gently on my feet. The lack of contact would have been unbearable if not for the tight grip I kept on his stone hand.

Emmett holds his hands up in mock surrender. "Don't shoot the messenger, man. I'm just here to take you to your table."

"Table?" I inquire, surveying my surroundings. This is like no restaurant I've ever seen before. In fact, with the familiar stone passageway and ancient décor, I'd say we haven't even left the castle. This dark corridor is definitely, however, a part of the castle I have not seen before. It lacks the powerful grandeur that the halls I had seen had while maintaining the feel of the primeval coven.

"I did say I was taking you out to dinner, didn't I?" Edward laughs, more carefree than I've seen him in a long time.

I smile, pleased with his mood. "Of course. Lead the way, Waiter Emmett!"

He bows dramatically before gesturing theatrically toward a small, wooden door I hadn't seen before. It's faded brown coloring blends in with the wall, and I probably would not have seen it if it hadn't been pointed out to me. I glance questioningly up at Edward's amused face, but he simply gives a nod of affirmation. Emmett is holding it open before I turn back. "After you," he says smoothly, a goofy grin stretching across his face.

Promising light glows inside and I pull Edward toward it thoughtlessly, drawn to it. The room revealed to me is very simple. A simple table draped in an ivory cloth is the main focus of the room, a myriad of candles alight around it. The quaint wooden floor and cream walls give the room a simplistic quality, and I love it instantly. A single candelabrum sits in the middle of the circular table, three pale candles flickering.

"What do you think?" Edward asks with a nearly indiscernible note of suspense in his tone.

I whirl around to look at him, my eyes wide. "It's beautiful," I tell him breathlessly.

This seems to please him. He pulls out the nearest chair for me chivalrously, and the gentlemanly gesture causes warmth to grow inside my chest so pleasant that I don't feel the need to tell him I'm perfectly capable of sitting on my own. I've really missed moments like this over the past few months. When things looked bleak in the asylum, I would imagine things like this, but my imagination never did him justice.

Only once I am fully situated does Edward move to his own seat. Focusing on the perfect man sitting across from me, I suddenly find it difficult to believe I ever considered our surroundings even pretty. Everything else is nothing in comparison to Edward's glory. I lean toward him unconsciously, and, if I have functional eyes, he does too.

"Well," Emmett asks, a mischievous smirk on his face, "What would you two lovers desire to eat on this fine evening? Can I interest you in some B negative? How about some O positive? Or an irritable grizzly, perhaps?"

Edward just rolls his eyes at his brother, to my surprise. Usually vampire jokes upset him. My smile widens; I don't know what happened to make my beloved in such a good mood, but I sure am thankful for it, whatever it was.

"Fine, fine, I guess you want to order from our new _human_ menu," Emmett grumbles, the dimpled grin never fading. He seems to think for a second before turning to me. "You have anything in mind?"

I contemplate this for a moment. No specific cravings are urging me on at this very moment. Something that isn't very messy to consume would also be a very nice touch, considering how awkward it would be to have some unattractive chunk of human food gunk stuck in my teeth all night. My wandering eyes land on Edward, and I know what I want.

"Mushroom ravioli, please?" I request, trying to keep my eyes on Emmett.

He tilts his head to the side and looks at me for a moment as if I'm speaking Scandinavian. Then, after a quick look from Edward, he nods minutely. "Sure. Your, uh, food will be out in a bit," he says hurriedly before scurrying out the door we'd come in.

"I don't think I've seen my brother that confused since Carlisle tried to explain to him why he suddenly sparkled like a 'fairy,'" Edward comments once I assume Emmett is out of hearing range.

I can't help it; the image of Emmett if he was like a fairy makes me burst into laughter. "Emmett?" I laughed, "A fairy?"

Edward laughs with me. My heart swells with the sound of his joy. "He was mortified!"

After our laughter finally dies down, Edward's smile softens and he reaches over to wipe a tear of laughter from my cheek. "What are you thinking?" He asks lowly, his golden orbs entrancing.

It takes me a minute to form thoughts coherent enough to voice, and it doesn't help that I suddenly forget what we were talking about._ Come on, Bella,_ I think to myself, _Say something intelligent!_ But even then I can't bring myself to say something.

Edward, however, always sharp with his photographic memory, is romantic enough for both of us. So he recites, his passion laced in every line, "Beloved! amid the earnest woes/That crowd around my earthly path—/(Drear path, alas! where grows/Not even one lonely rose)—/My soul at least a solace hath/In dreams of thee, and therein knows/An Eden of bland repose."

My lips seem to move of their own accord when I speak again. "And thus thy memory is to me/Like some enchanted far-off isle/ In some tumultuous sea—/Some ocean throbbing far and free/With storms—but where meanwhile/Serenest skies continually/Just o'er that one bright island smile," I whisper, bewildered with myself as I easily recite the words I wasn't aware I knew.

Edward beams at me, and I think for a moment that my heart might burst with pride for making him so happy. "I love you," he whispers tenderly.

"And I love you," I respond strongly, "Forever."

The door swings open then, startling me. "Did someone order an irritable grizzly bear?" Emmett asks loudly, holding up a small teddy bear with one hand, his other stashed behind his back. Edward shoots his brother a frustrated look, and Emmett shakes his head in response. "Tough crowd, I guess. Anyway, Bella," he says, pulling a plate out from behind his back, "I've got your dirt."

"It's not dirt, Emmett," I chastise him playfully, "It's a delicious meal."

Emmett wrinkles his nose in distaste. "Whatever keeps you alive, I guess," he shrugs, "Enjoy your evening."

And then we are alone. I turn my attention to the food he brought, and smile at what I find. It's obvious that whoever cooked this behind the scenes tried very hard to do it right. The ravioli is slightly burnt, but otherwise it looks edible. I gingerly pick up my fork, spear a piece, and place it in my mouth.

"How is it?" Edward asks eagerly, looking at me as if I were about to tell him the secret to life.

"Delicious!" I announce, holding up my fork for emphasis.

The rest of the meal passes by in comfortable silence until I set down my fork for the last time. "Would you like to dance?" Edward asks, casting the full force of his eyes on me.

"I-I don't know if that's a good idea," I respond, glancing around warily, "And there's no music."

Edward smiles and says, "Of course there is." Music begins to play then, and I look around suspiciously. There is no remote in Edward's hand, nor is there a stereo anywhere in sight. I suspect someone is listening in. Alice, maybe? He holds out his hand for me, and I couldn't have restrained myself from grabbing it if I had wanted to. Edward pulls me close as the words begin.

"_I was a quick-wit boy  
Diving too deep for coins  
All of your street light eyes  
Wide on my plastic toys  
Then when the cops closed the fair  
I cut my long baby hair  
Stole me a dog-eared map  
And called for you everywhere"_

A glistening tear sneaks out the corner of my eye as memories of prom flow through my mind. I peer up at Edward's face adoringly, and I know with ultimate certainty that this is the happiest I've been in months. Then the music fades, and a stab of loss rings in my chest. _Don't make it stop,_ I want to plead to whoever is in charge of this, _Don't ever let this end._ Edward pulls back, his shining eyes never leaving mine. He gets down on one knee.

"Isabella Swan," he begins confidently, "You own my heart and my existence. You are my love, my soul, my moon and my sun. Every second I spent without you was a second having my heart wrenched from my chest. I promise to love you every single day of forever. Will you marry me?"

_Author's note: Yes, I know, this was a very fluffy chapter and I left you off on a cliffhanger. Don't worry, the next chapter should be much more dramatic. I've decided not to tell you when the next chapter will be out. I got only one review last time (Thanks, Guest!). I expect more this time. My goal for this chapter is 100 reviews. We have 88 right now, and I think you can do it. Just a few words are awesome, really. And, just so you know, the poem was "To F_" by Edgar Allan Poe and the song was "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" by Iron and for reading!_

_Review prompt: What will Bella say to the proposal?_


	14. Chapter 14

_**NOTE: This is the REAL Chapter 14!**_ _**Remember, it's directly after Chapter 13.**_

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight.

_Summary: Edward arrived at the mental institution and was reunited with Bella. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves Bella was dead. The Cullen's camp was attacked, but Carlisle made a truce with the other coven's leader and they were informed of the Volturi's mandate. Next the Cullens met with the Denali coven. Meanwhile, Laurent betrayed their whereabouts to the Volturi. The Volturi returned to Denali and took Bella, agreeing to let the Cullens accompany them to Volterra after some quick thinking on Bella's part. They arrived in Volterra and Bella met the other survivors; the survivors were shocked and appalled when Edward entered. Alice prepares Bella for a special night out, and Edward proposes at dinner._

**Chapter 14 (EPOV)**

If my heart could beat, it would stop right now. I stare pleadingly into Bella's face, trying to keep track of her emotions in her eyes. My inability to read her mind only seems to get more frustrating as the time progresses. My family's thoughts, however, are loud and fast in the hallway. I wish vehemently that I could block them out and that did not have to hear their wonder and anxiety; I have enough of that for all of us.

A myriad of emotions cross Bella's face in a short time. Try as I do, I am unable to decipher all of them. Confusion. Shock. Disgust? Then consideration comes as my sweet reprieve, followed by consideration and, finally, elation. Her eyes light up, and her lips spread into a smile.

"Yes! Yes, yes, a gazillion times yes!" she exclaims, throwing her arms around my neck.

I sigh in relief as I return her embrace. We laugh to together in ecstasy, and then our lips meet passionately. Her hands curl in my hair, and I can't find it in me to pull away once I know the kiss is probably going too far.

_I'm proud of you, son. It's good to see you happy again._

_ I knew this would work out, Edward. You've been alone for too long now. You just needed to let yourself be happy._

_ Alright, Edward, we let you have your fun with the proposal. Good job, Romeo. We don't have all of eternity to do this, so get out here. I didn't plan your wedding for you to miss it! We're going to leave now, so don't take too long. I'll see if you get sidetracked, and I won't hesitate to send Emmett after you!_

Begrudgingly, I pull away at Alice's demand. Of course we do not have all of eternity to do this. We can only all be gone from the castle for so long before people start to suspect something.

"Thank you," I whisper lovingly, caressing her hair.

"Thank _you,_" she whispers back. She leans into my hand and sighs contentedly. We stay there for several minutes, reveling in each other's company. How could I have ever left her behind?

Alice's mental protests break through my concentration again from outside, and I pull back even farther. "We should get going," I tell Bella.

An adorable crease forms between her eyebrows as she squints in confusion. "Going? Where?"

"Alice is getting impatient. She's been working all day to put this event together, and she'll rip my head off if we keep her waiting much longer," I explain, hoping she'll pick up on exactly what kind of "event" I mean on her own.

After several seconds of contemplation, Bella's eyes widen. "Oh! The, er, wedding is going to happen now? Right now?"

"We thought that would be best, love," I tell her solemnly, "We don't think the Volturi would exactly approve of this, so we were hoping to be discrete. Alice and the family have already decorated a place short distance from the castle. Carlisle is able to marry us."

"Wow," she breathes. "This is certainly . . . a lot to take in."

"I'm so sorry that this feels so rushed," I apologize, kissing the back of her hand, "I promise that, when this is over and we can spend eternity together, I will make it up to you a thousand times. For now, this is all we can do."

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen," Bella whispers intensely, "I'm absolutely positive that whatever your family has put together is wonderful. I don't care if we're married on a beach in Hawaii, a grand cathedral, or behind a dumpster. It's not the venue I care about; it's you."

My dead heart swells. "Let's go, then. I'll carry you and we'll be there before you know it." I sweep her up in my arms bridal style and take off at full speed for our destination.

When we arrive at the beautifully decorated site, I set Bella on her feet and put my hands over her eyes. Alice doesn't want her to see it until she's walking down the aisle. My family managed to transform a desolate alleyway into a scene fit for a movie. The brick walls have been cleaned and draped with white garland. Bouquets of freesia and roses line the walls, giving off an aroma reminiscent of my Bella. A gleaming white rug makes a path to a charmingly old wedding arch, woven with flowers and vines. A few chairs, humble props in the charade because my family did not need to sit, line the aisle. The entire scene is illuminated with hundreds of flickering candles. Alice pulls my bride away from me and whispers instructions in her ear as they exit the alleyway.

I take my place next to Carlisle under the arch. Pride and joy envelope me. All of my past ideals insist that I do not deserve this degree of happiness. Why should a monster get to be married to such a lovely creature? I used to think that this would be impossible, but Bella has shown me that I am not the monster I thought I was. Though I will probably regret my wrongdoings for the rest of my existence, I don't think I will dwell on them as much as I did ever again.

Music floats out from a hidden place and announces the beginning of the ceremony. I can hear Bella breathing heavily out of my sight and Alice giving her a fast pep talk. Rosalie, the first bridesmaid, glides down the aisle with Jasper, the groomsman. Once they have taken their seats on either side of the aisle, Alice and Emmett, the maid of honor and best man, follow them. This, however, only takes up a small part of my concentration. Mostly, I am focused on my Bella.

Even before she comes into sight, I can hear her heart race. She finally rounds the bend after the seven seconds prescribed to wait by Alice. I cannot take my eyes off of her awestruck face. Her chocolate brown eyes widen as she takes in the decorations that I can no longer even deem pretty in comparison to her. She walks slowly toward me at first, almost straying from the aisle in her distraction. Then her eyes lock on mine, and she walks with purpose.

She stops next to me, her eyes not leaving my face. Carlisle recites words said a million times before, and we repeat them with the utmost sincerity. The entire world fades around us, and there is only her as the binding words ring in the alley.

"I do," I promise reverently.

"I do," Bella swears softly back.

And then, hardly able to wait for Carlisle's permission, she throws her arms around my neck and we kiss passionately in an embrace that could last for all eternity.

_Author's note: Here's the wedding you were looking for. I'm sorry I didn't just post this in the first place; I really should have. I hope you enjoyed it._

_Review prompt: Love for Edward, anyone?_


	15. Chapter 15

_**INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE! STORY FOLLOWERS AS OF BEFORE THE 23**__**RD**__** OF FEBRUARY OF 2013, THIS CHAPTER IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU READ IN CHAPTER 14 LAST TIME. I HAVE REPLACED CHAPTER 14 WITH THE CHAPTER 14 I KNOW YOU ALL WANTED: THE WEDDING. TO VIEW IT, JUST GO LOOK AT WHAT IS NOW CHAPTER 14. NEW READERS, JUST READ ON.**_

_Disclaimer: I do not own _Twilight.

_Summary: Edward arrived at the mental institution and was reunited with Bella. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves Bella was dead. The Cullen's camp was attacked, but Carlisle made a truce with the other coven's leader and they were informed of the Volturi's mandate. Next the Cullens met with the Denali coven. Meanwhile, Laurent betrayed their whereabouts to the Volturi. The Volturi returned to Denali and took Bella, agreeing to let the Cullens accompany them to Volterra after some quick thinking on Bella's part. They arrived in Volterra and Bella met the other survivors; the survivors were shocked and appalled when Edward entered. Alice prepares Bella for a special night out, and Edward proposes at dinner. They were secretly married in a private ceremony._

**Chapter 15 (BPOV)**

I push my eggs restlessly around my plate. The stares of my fellow humans are so potent they are almost tangible. I do not usually eat with them; Edward has always brought my food to the room we've stayed in since the wedding.

I smile at the memory. _The wedding,_ I think smugly, _My wedding._ Despite our need for secrecy, Alice managed to turn it into a remarkable affair. It was simple and antique, like one of the _Anne of Green Gables_ fantasies I had when I was younger. It was just what I would have done for myself, minus the venue. The Cullens transformed a clearing in the nearby forest into a lovely site for the ceremony, but the entire time I worried that one of the guards would swoop in and tell us this was unacceptable, that my humanity was too valuable to be lost. Fortunately, the event seems to have gone unnoticed by the vampire royalty. Since I am still human after all, we aren't sure if the Volturi will mind; they don't seem like the type to regard such unions as sacred or anything that would be problematic, but we don't want to take any chances. I shudder to think how they might punish us for doing anything against their wishes, but marrying Edward is definitely worth anything they might do to punish me. Only harm to Edward or his family could possibly make me regret my decision. My automatic response to his request was to open my mouth to tell him no, but then I thought about it. I thought through all of my qualms with marriage, my parents' problems, their anger, etc. and realized with a pang of loss that they aren't here to be angry with me and no one here was going to judge me as being "that girl." They all know I'm the insane vampire lover. Since I can't bind myself to Edward for all eternity through changing at this time, what way could be better than marriage? And, of course, the night after wasn't half bad either. _Yes, definitely worth it._

"It's time," a familiar, bell-like voice commands, breaking me from my fantasies. I watch in confusion as the other people all stand with a sigh, moving mechanically to stand beside a door I hadn't noticed before and my favorite doctor.

"Carlisle?" I ask quietly , bewildered, "What's going on?"

"It's blood drawing time, We do this every day," he explains with a worried glance at the unhealthily pale figures in line.

Warily, I stand to join my kind in line for what I suppose would be harvesting. Frightening things flash across my mind. The dreaded sterile smell of the hospital, the rusty reek of blood, and…needles. If anyone but Carlisle were conducting this, I don't think I could remain standing. It feels bizarre being with humans again. I am no longer accustomed to the heavy breathing or the warmth. I feel almost claustrophobic despite how few of this there are. Over the weeks since the wedding, I have barely left Edward's side. Only now that he and his family (minus Carlisle, I suppose) have gone hunting have I seen these people again, even to eat. Edward brought me all of my food.

The line inches forward slowly. One by one, people go into the room and the door closes behind them. I shift nervously on my feet when I realize that no one comes back to the room once they have had their turn. _It's Carlisle, Bella,_ I remind myself, _He's a veggie vamp, remember?_ After some deep breathing, I am able to expel most of my fears and focus more on my surroundings. The human turnout is still dismal. I still can't seem to wrap my head around the fact that there are fewer people in the entire world right now than there were at Forks High School a few months ago, not counting the undead entities present. It all seems so surreal, especially considering the people I knew. I'm still half expecting Charlie, Renee, and Jake to walk in at any time, but I know that they never will.

Tears force their way to the corners of my eyes and the despair that always disappears in Edward's presence returns with a fury. No matter how happy I am that Edward and I are back together, nothing is anywhere close to perfect. When I step back to examine my life, which I try not to do too often, it's difficult to be content with what I see. I'm trapped in a castle full of vampires who would kill me before letting me spend an eternity with my beloved, our relationship, however strong, dangerously perched and borderline impossible. The absence of my parents and Jake is like another hole in my chest, aching but mostly masked by my love for Edward.

Too soon, it is my turn to go through the door and face the dreaded needles. I creep cautiously inside, finding a room with a setup similar to your average hospital examination room. Carlisle is waiting beside the customary examination table, prepping a needle. Nausea comes over me at the sight of it, and the refrigerator in the corner does not help. I can guess what's in there. I climb habitually onto the examination table and wait for Carlisle to be ready, squirming nervously like a small child.

"You look well," Carlisle comments.

Knowing how pale I become when I am faint like this, I doubt I look anywhere near well at the moment. "I don't feel so well," I reply, nodding at the needle in his hands.

He smiles apologetically. "I'm sorry about the needles. I know how uncomfortable they make you. We've managed to keep you from it for the last few weeks, but we can only protect you from so much, I'm afraid. There are worse things, and we don't want to give the Volturi any more reasons to dislike us."

"Yeah," I sigh, "I know that I have to do this. It is my purpose after all, right?"

Carlisle sighs and shakes his head. "I'm trying to convince them of otherwise. That's why you haven't seen me around much lately. When I'm not doing this or giving checkups, I'm working with the present portion of the vampire population to encourage a new diet. It would be easier for everyone if we could just switch, if only temporarily. Unfortunately, thirsty vampires are not easily reasoned with. There are just so few humans now that a pint a day from each one barely satisfies the guard. We're rationing, but it's difficult. Bring out a few bags for a coven and they all fight for the most. It may not be possible for us to die of starvation, but our unusually close proximity and hostility is certainly eating away at our numbers. Not enough to make it any easier to feed them, and too many to call this anything remotely close to a peaceful gathering."

This news of the outside intrigues me. "How many have you managed to switch over? To drinking animals, I mean."

Carlisle smile softly. "I've converted several. For some, telling them my story was enough to make them try it. Others finally just got so thirsty that they broke down and abolished a few herds of deer. It's happening slowly, but it is happening. Aro told me I was, 'ahead of the times' all those years ago. As you can see, it's nothing more than a way to avoid the thirst for them, not a moral choice. I'm hoping that will change soon," he explains sincerely. I smile back at Carlisle, unable to feel a portion of his infectious hope. How anyone could not be impressed by Carlisle I will never know.

Unable to ignore the impending doom any more, I sigh, "Let's get this over with. Take my blood, vampire."

"Already done," Carlisle responds, holding up a syringe of my blood as proof, "Would you like a Band-Aid?"

My mouth falls open in shock. Then I grin at him, relieved. "You're magical, Carlisle. How didn't I notice that?"

"Centuries of practice with nervous preschoolers," he laughs, "The key is to distract them." He reaches into the fridge I noticed earlier and pulls out a juice box. "This will help with the fatigue." I take the juice box gratefully, only now noticing the affects of my blood loss.  
"You're magical, Carlisle," I laugh before sucking greedily at the straw of my apple juice.

"So I've been told. Now, it's time for your checkup. Just a routine thing, no needles," he tells me, "I'll start by asking you a few normal questions." I nod in consent before he begins the script he has probably gone through countless times, asking all about how I feel. "Have you been getting enough to eat?" I swear the Volturi is trying to fatten us up. "Have you felt lightheaded lately?" Only when needles are being brandished at me.

"When was the last day of your menstrual cycle?" This one makes me choke on my juice. Once I push the embarrassment away enough to consider answering, I remember the last month. Then the next one. Then the next one. My blush drains away as my face pales.

"Come to think of it," I respond nervously, "I don't think that's happened since…since you guys left."

I watch Carlisle's face carefully as he responds. He looks at me sadly, sympathetically almost. "The stress will do that to you. It's perfectly normal for someone who undergoes such an ordeal. You have nothing to worry about. Trust me, I've been to medical school more times than anyone alive," he assures me, "I'll have Alice get you some supplies so you're prepared when it comes back." Cue return of blush. That's going to be the most embarrassing encounter I've had with my sister-in-law yet.

"And, another thing about that time," I say shyly, "Since you guys took me from that, um, place, I've been seeing weird stuff. Stuff that isn't actually there."

Now Carlisle looks worried. "What do you mean? What do you see? Are they like visions or more like hallucinations? And what do you see?"

I bite my lip, looking down at my feet. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. "More like…hallucinations. And I see people. I saw lots of them in the city when we came in, and I see them sometimes in the halls of the castle. Most of the time they are barely there, but other times, they almost seem…tangible. Like I could reach out and touch them if I wanted to. They're usually glaring at me, like I did something to hurt them. It frightens me, but no one else sees them. They started the first day we arrived in Volterra."

My father-in-law thinks for a few seconds. "What kind of medication where you on in that institution? Any anti-psychotics?"

"I know," I respond, embarrassed, "I wasn't really paying attention to what they fed me, and they weren't exactly explaining it to me. Sometime they used an IV. They could have given me anything."

He sighs, thinking intensely. "Maybe I could send Emmett to go get your hospital records. My best guess is that you had something like that, and the long term affects can be rather bad. Though they are designed to fix chemical imbalances in your brain, but they have actually been known to create more of an imbalance. I won't be able to do anything until we know exactly what you had."

"And until then?" I ask, on the verge of panic.

"Until then, I suggest you don't worry about it until we have more information. Ignore the hallucinations and drink lots of water. Does Edward know about these?" he asks.

I shake my head regretfully. I had guessed it had something to do with my time in that institution, and he already felt so guilty about leaving me. I didn't want him to feel any worse about that, especially know that he is just beginning to forgive himself. Also, the gap between us is already so colossal; I don't want to be any less worthy of him. It doesn't help that he also treats me like I'm made of glass. That would only get worse if I told him I'm hallucinating. "No, and I'd rather keep it that way," I say, hoping he'll understand.

"I won't say anything if you don't want me to," Carlisle agrees, "But I think you should tell him."

The rest of the examination passes uneventfully. After several more questions, a blood pressure check, and a few more boring procedures, Carlisle declares me to be in perfect health—minus the few issues discussed earlier—and lets me go.

The moment I exit Carlisle's makeshift office, I sigh with relief and color returns to my face. _There goes another conversation to add to the Top Ten Most Embarrassing Conversations of My Life list,_ I think wryly. Right up there with "the talk" I got from Renee. Of course, my peace does not last long. I blink, and the hallucinations are back. They are not a big issue in the castle, but they've gotten progressively worse over the last few weeks. They started as we drove through Volterra the very first day we came here when I saw imagined the townspeople. Since then, my subconscious just loves to remind me of what has passed. Upon seeing a few phantom-like children playing with wooden swords, I take off sprinting down the hallway. I've already been running for several minutes when I realize that I have no idea where I'm going. My lack of a sense of direction hasn't failed to get me lost in this castle yet.

I drift to a stop, breathing heavily, and sink down to the cold stone of the floor. I weep for the lives that have been lost, my loved ones in particular, the dismal situation here, and my own insanity. Renee will never hug me and tell me everything is going to be okay, her eyes wide with her childish innocence. I'll never again make dinner for Charlie. Jake will never finish his beloved Volkswagen Rabbit. Edward and I might never have peace or spend our entire existences by each other's side. And when will these damned hallucinations let me be?!

"What are you doing in this part of the castle?" someone growls.

I jump to my feet, backing up against the wall. A bulky vampire with a medium grey cloak and bared teeth stands in the middle of the hallway, glaring hungrily at me. "I-I got lost," I respond, backing up along the wall, "I'd best be on my way now."

"Why don't you stay a while?" the vampire asks, his voice a chilling purr, "Or maybe I could show you the way back to your room."

Then he's right in front of me. My heart thrashes around in my chest and adrenaline pulses through my veins like liquid panic. Tears continue to streak silently down my cheeks. "No, I think I really must be going. I know the way," I respond, trying to make my voice sound level. I move quickly to navigate around him, but his arm shoots out in front of me to bar my exit.

"Why the hurry?" he purrs, "Stay a while. I won't bite…much." His straight black eyes send tremors through me. He's thirsty. I search wildly for an exit strategy. "Great décor, isn't it? You'd think, for all this extravagance, they'd have better refreshments here, right?" he says cordially before leaning forward to whisper in my ear, "But you're the most appetizing thing I've seen so far."

"Felix," an angelic voice calls sternly, "Back away from the human." Felix doesn't respond. "Felix," she snaps, her voice sharper this time, before sighing.

Felix falls to the ground in front of me, screaming in agony. I cover my ears and cower against the wall, wishing I could disappear. After several seconds, I recognize the female voice. This is Jane, the one we met in Alaska. This is her gift of torture. I stand in terror for several minutes before Jane finally releases Felix from his hold and he sprints away.

Jane looks me over critically, assessing me for injuries. "Come," she orders, walking past me down the hall. I stumble after her, too terror stricken to formulate any other plan. I follow her breathlessly through the labyrinth that is the Volturi's castle until we miraculously arrive in front of the room Edward and I share. "Do not leave your room alone," she orders sternly, "And Aro will want to see you when Edward returns."

_Review prompt: What will Edward think when he returns? Will Bella be able to keep her secret? What does Aro want?_


	16. Chapter 16

_Previously: Bella had a very interesting doctor's appointment with Carlisle and was almost eaten by  
Felix. Aro wants to see them..._

**Chapter 16 (EPOV)**

"You done yet?"

"Maybe," my bear of a brother responds heartily, dropping his second brown bear, "They're just so fun this time of year. Just coming out of hibernation, you know?"

"And _you_ know they're on the verge of extinction here, right?" I taunt him.

Emmett laughs his boisterous laugh. "Speaking of which, how is your our little Belly-boo?"

I sigh in exasperation. "Not funny, Emmett," I chastise him.

"Oh, come on," he defends himself, "We all know that's all you can think about. I don't think you even noticed the tiger we passed a few miles ago."

"Really, Emmett? A tiger in Italy?" I raise my eyebrows questioningly.

"I'm not the one that's out of it. Ever wonder what happened in the zoos? Well," he stage whispers, "Jasper and I might have had a little fun last weekend with a prison break." I smile and shake my head at the comical memories running through his head.

Jasper jumps out of a nearby tree, landing swiftly next to us. "I liked the gorillas," he adds.

Emmett smirks mischievously. "You're not the only one not having any fun around here, Eddie. Poor Jasper here is being neglected too, what with Alice's rejuvenated passion for fashion," he teases me. If I were human, I would blush. If only Emmett knew . . . He nudges Jasper playfully, and Jasper shoves him over in response.

"Alice will be Alice," I chuckle at the antics of my favorite sister. She has been running around like crazy these last few days trying to put together as many outfits as possible.

"And I wouldn't want it any other way," Jasper says softly, a splash of his southern accent coloring his tone. We can all feel the love radiating from him.

Emmett, his pride wounded from his earlier fall, challenges Jasper, "That's no fair! I wasn't ready! C'mon, rematch!" Jasper smirks and gets into a hunting crouch. Emmett returns the gesture, and they are soon fighting again.

"My money is on Jasper!" I call as they continue their brotherly scuffle. I sigh and gaze fondly at my brothers before turning away to head for the castle.

"Where do you think you're going?" Emmett shouts, not looking up from his battle, "You'd better not-" Jasper cuts him off with a swift tackle. I linger as they wrestle on the ground before Jasper stands victoriously once again.

"Why don't you go work on that dent you're putting in Italy's bear population, Emmett? I want to talk to Edward," Jasper suggests coolly as he wipes the dirt off of his designer jeans.

Emmett eyes us suspiciously before conceding. "I guess Yogi is calling my name." _I don't want to get in the middle of this emotional crap. I get enough of this from Rose's rants. _I am unable to smile at his discomfort as he runs off; I'm too anxious.

"What's bothering you so much, Edward?" Jasper asks empathetically once Emmett is out of earshot. _Besides the usual, I mean._

"It's just-" I pause, struggling for the right words to describe this feeling. "Time. Aro hasn't collected as many humans as he had wanted to, and the others are getting increasingly restless. I worry how much we can go on like this. We can't avoid touching Aro's hand forever, and though Aro probably doesn't have much regard for unity in the eyes of God, he won't what we've done. Not at all. And even if that hadn't happened-"

"We'll find a way, brother," Jasper assures me, placing a hand on my shoulder, "We've been in bad situations before." _Not exactly of this magnitude, but... Sorry, Edward._

"You're starting to sound like Esme," I tell him.

Jasper smiles, taking this comparison to our gentle mother as a compliment. "We'd better be getting home now," he says quietly. I nod in agreement and we sprint inevitably toward our beloveds.

The moment we get to the castle, I know something is wrong. Even from outside the looming stone walls of the place that has become our prison, I can make out the heartbreaking sound of the love of my life crying. Alice's frantic thoughts invade my mind.

_Edward, hurry up and get in here! Bella is a mess, and Aro... Well, see for yourself._ A blurry vision of a stony faced Aro ordering his guards to take Bella away seeps into my mind, courtesy of my psychic sister.

Jasper and I waste no time. We sprint through the halls we have come to memorize like the specters we are, blurs. Despite our greatly enhanced abilities, we can't seem to run fast enough. Luckily there is no need for us to feign being human; I would go mad if I had to go slowly. A quick look into Jasper's mind reveals my love's pain.

"Going somewhere, Edward? Jasper?" a bell like voice inquires apathetically. A small yet imposing figure materializes in front of us. My dead heart sinks. Jane.

"Our rooms," I respond coldly, moving to pass her.

Apparently she has no such thing in mind. Pain not unlike what I felt in my months without Bella overtakes me. I feel as if my insides are being torn out, stomped on, beaten, burned, and mixed together while remaining inside my cold shell of a body. Meanwhile, it feels as if a trillion needles are piercing ever square millimeter of my rock hard skin. And the burning, oh the terrible, terrible burning... I try in vain not to scream.

Then I am released. My crystallized muscles unclench and I am left panting on the ground from exertion. But my mind is not at rest, because Bella is still hurt. "Bella..." I breathe, springing unsteadily to my feet.

"Bring the human to the throne room. Immediately," Jane commands before disappearing. _Human loving aberration... Aro will give them what they deserve. _

Jasper and I exchange a millisecond long glance of anxious urgency before continuing to our destination. We waste no time and arrive in our hallway within seconds. I shove the door open, barely noticing the crack that resounds as it snaps against the wall. Bella looks more fragile than ever as she curls in on herself in Alice's arms. A small part of my mind catalog Alice's panic, but the dominant part of me is focused on Bella. I take her from Alice and clutch her to my chest protectively and stroke her hair soothingly. I subtly search for any physical injuries, but I find none at first glance.

"What happened?" Jasper asks his mate too quietly for human ears.

Alice shakes her head sadly. "I'm not sure exactly," she responds quickly, "But Felix's scent is on her when it most definitely should not be, and Jane's scent mingles with hers outside the door." A quick sniff confirms these things.

"What did they do?!" I snarl under my breath, not wanting to alarm the still crying Bella.

Alice gives me an exaggerated shrug, I don't need to be Jasper to see the guilt in her eyes. _I can't see the past, Edward._

"But shouldn't you have seen this, of all things, _before_ it happened?" I hiss, my lips barely moving.

_Whatever it was, it was not premeditated. I was watching you guys, because it's gotten so dangerous out there with all of the thirsty nomads everywhere. But I should have seen _this.

A confused Jasper, sensing Alice's distress, places a comforting hand on her shoulder. Alice's eyes communicate what she wants, and Jasper sends a wave of calm over both her and Bella.

I return my full attention to Bella. She slowly calms down in my arms, her shaking lessening before she wipes tears away and turns to look at me. Her red eyes and tear-streaked face nearly break my heart. Awareness seems to dawn on her, and her eyes widen in horror. "Oh, I'm so sorry Edward!" She cringes in shame, leaving me completely bewildered.

"Whatever for, love?" I ask, astounded. What could she have to be sorry for?

"I-I shouldn't react like this," she states sullenly, "I mean, it's not even... but then Felix, and..." Tears brim at the edges of her eyes, and she takes a deep breath to compose herself.

"It's okay, Bella. You're okay. I'm here now, and I won't leave again for a long time," I promise painfully. I hate that I am unable to promise that I will never leave again. Unfortunately, I cannot escape my nature; I have to hunt sometimes.

"N-no, it's not..." She looks around the room frantically, as if we were surrounded by enemies, before burying her face in my chest. "I'm sorry," she whispers.

I am about to explain that she has absolutely nothing to be sorry for when I hear Jasper's thoughs. _We should go now, Edward. They don't want to be kept waiting._ Ah, the Volturi. This, surely the pivotal moment I've been dreading, will not go well at all, but it would be worse to keep them waiting.

"Bella," I whisper to her soothingly, "We have to go somewhere now, okay? Can you walk?"

"Of course I can walk," Bella mutters bitterly, "I'm not crippled." She moves unsteadily to her feet and strides indolently toward the door before turning back to me. "Where are we going, exactly?"

"Aro wants to see us," I reply gravely.

"Oh," she breathes, her eyes widening again and her bravado failing, "Why?"

"We have our theories," I sigh, "But we have to hurry. Jane said that we had to go to the throne room immediately. May I carry you?" She nods in consent, and we are off within seconds.

The rest of our family joins us as we run; only Emmett, busy with the bear population, is missing. _Don't worry, son. We won't let them take Bella. _Carlisle, ever the protector.

_Those no good, sons of bi- _At least Rosalie is on our side now.

Esme moves to run beside Bella and me. _Oh, the poor dear. She looks so shaken..._

They are waiting for us in the throne room. Aro, Caius, and Marcus glare down at us from their thrones. Their expressions offer no reprieve to my distress. They sit, these three vampires who are, after all, only really men, like the omnipotent beings they pretend they are. The judges and the jury, cloaked in black, with a hoard of executioners waiting for orders.

"Friends," Aro addresses us gravely, "I'm afraid I have come across a terrible rumor. Is it true that you, Carlisle, wed your son to _our_ human? I will know if you lie." I clench my teeth at his claim. Bella does not belong to them! She is her own person, not some animal to be confiscated.

"I performed the marriage ceremony, yes," my father responds graciously, "Edward and Bella are very much in love, and a wedding seemed appropriate. Surely, Marcus, you of all people can see that."

"Yes," the ancient vampire states lowly, "The bond between the human and that vampire is extraordinary. It is not unlike a bond between mates."

Aro reaches out to touch his "brother"'s hand. His bewilderment and disappointment are clear in his thoughts. "I see. But this still does not justify the clear violation of our mandate."

"Bella is still human. We have broken no law here," Carlisle responds cordially.

"Ah, but, Carlisle, surely you understand how this would make me feel. We are in _such_ a tight position as of late, and we need all of the humans we can get, I'm afraid. You seem to think that this human will get to _stay_ with you, but this is not the case. It has been only a matter of time before we decided that this camaraderie you seem to feel with her came to an end." He sighs, gazing at us with fake sadness. "I'm afraid that time has come, my old friend." A feeling reminiscent of Jane's stare bubbles in my throat. _No!_

I feel Bella, soft and warm in my arms, and know that being separated from her would be unbearable. The thought of never seeing her deep brown eyes or hear her laugh again is unthinkable. I hold her more closely to me reflexively, and she holds more tightly to my neck. Her heart speeds up to a rate that is certainly not healthy and her breathing quickens.

"No harm has been done here, Aro. Please, I beg of you. My son has at last found his mate; surely you can understand _that _of all things! Think of Sulcipa! Cauis, think of Anthendora! Marcus, don't you remember how you felt when Didyme passed? Please, do not inflict this on my son!" Carlisle pleads.

"I'm sorry, Carlisle," Aro apologizes, though is thoughts reveal no guilt, "But in desperate times such as these one must think beyond the needs of a single individual. We have the entire vampire populace to be thinking about right now! We need blood, and we need more humans to get it. Without all hands on deck, as some say, we will not be able to ensure the continuation of our food source. There are so few available that we cannot waste any."

"We are not even sure if Bella can have children, Aro. She is not in the best physical state right now, and it is possible she will not be able to recover. There is a significant chance she is unfit to bear healthy children, if she could at all. Not to mention the stress of being away from her mate would guarantee complications. Surely you know enough about this process to see that!" Carlisle argues. _This cannot happen. I will not allow this to happen to my daughter!_

"Excuses, Carlisle. You must accept what is. We simply must try. Even if she were useless in carrying on the race, we will need every ounce of blood she can give us until her dying day in a good seventy years," Caius spits.

"But..."

"Speak no more, Carlisle," Aro demands, "We have been gracious in allowing you this time. Now you shall be silent."

A tense silence ensues for everyone else in the room. For me, frantic thoughts are buzzing on top of my own. I cannot concentrate through the clamor of desperation, and all of their panic is too much to bear alone. Jasper's thoughts are especially torturous, since he can feel everyone's pain.

As several guards in ashy gray cloaks approach, an almost animalistic instinct takes over me. I sling Bella back on my back to free my hands and growl menacingly at the attackers. If a fight is how this must happen, so be it.

Then an unlikely person cries out in our defense. "Wait!" Rosalie shouts, seeing the upcoming fight, "What if... What if we knew where you could find more people capable of doing what you want? If we could produce replacements for Bella, could this be stopped?"

This piques Aro's interest. He raises his hand in a signal for his guards to wait. "How could this be done?" he demands suspiciously, his red eyes alight with hunger.

"I said that I might know where we could find some people to trade for Bella. If we could produce not just one, but several more beings capable of producing human offspring, would you let Bella go?" she reiterates, stepping forward. _Because there's no way in Hell I'm letting you do this to Bella._

"We're listening," Aro prompts her, leaning forward in his throne.

"No," Rosalie demands icily, "I want your word."

"Don't push it, child," Aro snaps, "Do not forget I could hear every thought you ever had with one touch. But . . . If what you say is true, I will consider what you have to say."

Rosalie sighs, seeing that this is the best she can get. "But you'll need Bella's help to get them. Otherwise things might get . . . messy."

Aro laughs sardonically. "I can't imagine how a mere human could help us accomplish anything."

"I'm sure you saw in Carlisle's thoughts about the Quileute legends."

A small gasp escapes from Bella's mouth, and a dozen emotions cross her face at once.

"Jacob," she breathes.

_Author's note: Sorry that took so long. My computer got a virus...argh. I had to write this on my mom's computer. Thanks for reading! Let's try to get to __**130**__ reviews this time, okay? Please, just a word or two (or twenty) is enough to make me a very happy author._

_Review prompt: What do you think of the wolves coming back?_


	17. Chapter 17

___Summary: Edward arrived at the mental institution and was reunited with Bella. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves Bella was dead. The Cullen's camp was attacked, but Carlisle made a truce with the other coven's leader and they were informed of the Volturi's mandate. Next the Cullens met with the Denali coven. Meanwhile, Laurent betrayed their whereabouts to the Volturi. The Volturi returned to Denali and took Bella, agreeing to let the Cullens accompany them to Volterra after some quick thinking on Bella's part. They arrived in Volterra and Bella met the other survivors; the survivors were shocked and appalled when Edward entered. Alice prepares Bella for a special night out, and Edward proposes at dinner. They were secretly married in a private ceremony. Bella had a very interesting doctor's appointment with Carlisle and was almost eaten by Felix. Aro summoned them and said that he would have to take Bella away from the Cullens, but Rosalie stopped him by proposing to trade the wolf pack for Bella._

**Chapter 17 (BPOV)**

Shock is the first thing to hit me. Not everyone I know is dead! In the short time I knew him before I had the breakdown that made Charlie decide that some professional help would be best for me, he had become my best friend. My happiness does not last long.

Confusion is the next emotion to register in my mind. How could Jacob possibly be _alive?_ Everyone in Forks and the surrounding areas died. The Cullens definitely would have noticed if anyone in La Push had survived. But…they did. Obviously, Rosalie knows, so they all must have known that they were still alive… They just didn't tell me.

Cold betrayal seeps from my heart like a deadly fog. How could they have kept something so important from me? I assumed that they would have gathered up any survivors to take with us, but I suppose I was wrong. At the very least, they should have said something, anything but leaving me in the dark like they did. This is inexcusable. After all the tears I shed over my lost family and friends . . . they chose to keep this from me.

"Oh my," Aro breathes. He tilts his head to the size and gazes hungrily at Rosalie before gesturing infinitesimally to his guards. Two swoop in next to Rosalie, grab her arms, and pull her up to Aro.

Emmett growls, stepping forward to defend his mate, but Carlisle places a warning hand on his shoulder. Rosalie voluntarily goes with them to stand directly in front of Aro. The royal vampire reaches out his pale, filmy hand for her to touch, and she reluctantly meets him halfway. As the seconds tick by slowly, my heart pounds audibly in my ears, my head still reeling from this new revelation.

When Aro finally releases Rosalie's hand, his deep red lips spread into a delighted smile. I shrink into Edward fearfully as his shrill, scream-like laugh rings through the corridor. My love strokes my hair tenderly, shifting me to stand slightly behind him, and I hold more tightly to his sleeve.

"Splendid!" Aro exclaims, opening his arms as if to embrace us all, "More additions to our new little society. I must discuss this with my brothers... Go, Cullens and Bella, to your rooms, but do not leave the castle. You animal-drinkers never cease to amuse me!"

The moment Aro is done speaking, Edward sweeps me into his arms and runs away at vampiric speed. My toes meet the plush carpet of my personal bedroom, and I know it's safe to release my anger.

"Why didn't you tell me he was still alive, Edward?" I demand.

"I didn't want you to feel obligated to stay, when—"

"That's not your _choice!_"

"Bella, please, try to understand—"

"No! I can't understand why you didn't tell me that my best friend was still _alive_! It seems like that's something you'd want to share," I shriek, blood pumping hotly through my veins.

"Please, just let me explain," Edward implores.

But I am beyond explanations. Feeling as if I would be unable to contain myself it this exchange went on any longer, I shout, "Go away!"

Edward's face contorts in pain. His mouth turns to a half-agape grimace, his burning eyes widen in shock, and his already white skin pales even more. "Bella..." he pleads.

"LEAVE!" I demand., stamping my foot in anger.

The pain that corrupts Edward's perfect features causes my stomach to twist achingly. Something intangible ldoges in my throat, and I swallow back the plea to stay that drags its way to my lips. Unable to look him in the eyes, I glare at my feet.

Several agonizing seconds pass before Edward speaks. "Okay," he says flatly, "I will go now." My eyes flit up just in time to see him turn for the door, then back again. Then the love of my life proclaims reverently, "But I will be here. When—i-f—you need me, all you need to do is ask."

And then he is gone.

I fall to my knees on the plush carpet and sob unrestrained. Tears stream down my face like acid, rightly searing my skin. How dare I turn him away like that? Is it physically possible that I just told Edward Cullen, the love of my life, my soul mate, to leave? He must have been so hurt. I bring my fingers to my lips and trace them with disgusted tenderness, wondering how I could have brought myself to commit such blasphemy.

Enraged at both the Cullens and myself, I pull myself to my shaky legs I feel weak with my rage and this new revelation. The Cullens didn't want me to know, so they just edited out that one little detail from their story. This brings to question what else they have lied to me about. Jacob must think I am dead. If he knew that I was alive, he would have come. At least, I think he would have come.

A short knock comes from my door. I bound over to it, hoping without wishing that Edward has returned. I swing open the heavy door to reveal a slight, pixie of a vampire with her arms crossed nervously across her chest. Her golden orbs widen at the sight of my reddened eyes and tear-streaked cheeks. I am wrapped in her embrace before I can squeak her name.

"Oh, Bella!" she exclaims, tightening her grip on my torso.  
When my chest begins to burn from the lack of oxygen, I decide to protest. "Er, Alice," I squeak, "Human here. Gotta breathe."

The constricting arms are gone before I am finished speaking. "Sorry," Alice apologizes, her eyes big and lips turned into a pitiful pout, "Really, genuinely sorry. We just thought it would be best if you could let go. We thought . . ."

The anger returns as quickly as it had vanished at the sight of her, like a hot stone clogging my heart. "Well, you know what," I spit icily, "You all seem to have a problem with deciding what's best for me. Don't you remember what happened last time?"

Alice visibly cringes at my words. "I don't agree with what my brother did, but he left to protect—"

"You all left me!" I shriek, "It wasn't just him. You _all _left me, Alice, so don't try to shove the blame off on your brother. His power wasn't mind control last time I checked."

Her eyes darken, and she sets a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Bella. We should not have left without consulting you first. We have bigger problems right now than worrying about things in the past. If we have any intention of getting out of this situation alive, we need to stand together. But, I suppose you could say we have a little trouble with making decisions for you."

Somehow saying, "I told you so," is not going to make me feel better in this situation.

"You have to forgive him at the very least. Edward, if not the rest of us. He loves you more than you know, and I can't bear to see him as said as he is. Be mad at me, Bella, if you have to be mad at anybody," Alice begs as she clasps her hands together pleadingly.

The devastation in her expression brings out my natural urge to protect the weak, though I know that Alice definitely does not need protecting. I wrap her in my arms, and she accepts my embrace and hugs me back, this time remembering my need to breathe. She pulls back after several seconds and looks up at me. "So, do you forgive Edward now?" she asks hopefully.

I sigh, knowing without wanting to admit it that this tiny vampire is manipulating me. I do not want to continue fighting with Edward or anyone, so I concede. "Fine. I forgive you all, for leaving and for Jacob."

"Thank you, Bella!" she exclaims, "You won't regret this, I promise. After all, I would know." She taps her temple knowingly, and I crack a smile at her attempt at humor. Then she takes a deep breath and regains her serious composure.

"But I still want an explanation. I'll try not to hold a grudge, but I need to know why you did it. Why keep this from me? You had me thinking that every human I knew was dead," I demand, no longer under the influence of her puppy dog face. For a moment, I suspect the interference of Jasper.

"The thing is," Alice explains sheepishly, "They aren't _exactly_ human."

I raise an eyebrow questioningly at her. "Seriously? I think I'd know if Jacob were a _vampire,"_ I scoff.

"I never said he was a vampire." I am silent for several moments, turning this over in my head. _Not a vampire? What else is there? Wizards?_ "He's kind of a werewolf."

I gawk at her as if she'd just announced that she never wanted to shop again. "Like, turn into a wolf at the full moon, werewolf? Silver bullets and that kind of thing?"

"Hollywood is _really_ bad at portraying the world's actual monsters," Alice laughs bleakly, "This Jacob character and his pack are more like shape shifters, turning into giant wolves on demand. I've never seen them personally, nor can I see them in my visions, but I know the theory."

Alice guides me over to the perfectly made bed where I promptly sit down. I run my hand through my hair and attempt to come to terms with this new information. _Werewolves. Wow._

Before I know it, my breathing is too fast and I'm beginning to panic. "Werewolves? Seriously? Oh, of course! That just figures, doesn't it? I'm finally able to make a _human_ friend, and it turns out he's actually a dog."

"You never were a normal human exactly, were you?"

"Nope, never," I sigh, shaking my head sadly. Always on the sidelines, never truly fitting in . . . that's me.

"But that's a good thing. No one likes someone who's just _normal,"_ Alice agrees, "That's sort of how I'm beginning to feel without my visions. Those dogs certainly aren't helping me in that area."

I smile weakly at her. "Now you'll see things like the rest of us. But that doesn't change how bizarre this is. If you'd told me a few years ago what I'd be doing now, I would have laughed at you. Vampires, humans, and wolves, oh my!"

"Well," Alice chimes in an attempt to lighten the mood, "At least there are no ghosts." I gaze cautiously out the window at the phantoms that haunt my psyche both night and day.

If only she knew.

_Author's note: Sorry about the wait; I could blame my computer virus, but I was procrastinating a lot too._

_CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT: The reader who has left the greatest number of reviews by the posting of Chapter 20 will get to create a character for the story. If multiple people get the same number of reviews, I will count the length. I will not count anything that does not refer to the story, meaning that I won't count words about how hard a math test was._

_ALSO: Reviewers will now get sneak peeks. ( But only if you leave it under your screen name so I can PM you)_


	18. Chapter 18

_Summary: Edward arrived at the mental institution and was reunited with Bella. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves Bella was dead. The Cullens met with the Denali coven while Laurent betrayed their whereabouts to the Volturi. The Volturi returned to Denali and took Bella, agreeing to let the Cullens accompany them to Volterra after some quick thinking on Bella's part. They arrived in Volterra and Bella met the other survivors, who were shocked and appalled when Edward entered. Edward later proposed at a romantic dinner. They were secretly married in a private ceremony. Bella had a very interesting doctor's appointment with Carlisle and was almost eaten by Felix. Aro summoned them and said that he would have to take Bella away from the Cullens, but Rosalie stopped him by proposing to trade the wolf pack for Bella. Bella and Edward argued over him not telling her about Jacob's continued existence, but Alice convinced her to forgive him._

**Chapter 18 (BPOV)**

"Can you set me down here?" I ask sheepishly, still clinging to Esme's back as she runs. She coasts slowly to a stop and sets me on my feet. Her warm, golden eyes show me her deep, motherly understanding, and I know that she will be more than happy to accommodate my request.

It was incredibly bizarre being here, though I have known it my entire life. After several years of simply visiting Forks, several more years avoiding it, and a little over a year of calling it my home, you'd think I would be used to the stormy weather and altogether dreary atmosphere. I remember sadly how I used to think of it as an alien planet; that thought was nothing to how it feels being here now. It feels painfully hollow; I wish fervently that things could go back to normal, that I was returning from the meadow with Edward while I contemplated what to cook Charlie for dinner.

After much pleading persuasion, the Volturi agreed to send me ahead with Esme, worrying that Edward might try to run away with me if they let him come. Our task is to find the wolves in La Push and attempt to persuade them to come quietly. Knowing Jacob, that is not going to happen, but I feel like I need this time alone in the place I had come to know as home.

"Is there any place you'd like me to take you, Bella?" Esme asks, her tone laced with maternal concern, "We could go anywhere you want and still talk to the wolves before the others get here."

"Yeah, actually," I reply determinedly, "I want to see Charlie."

Esme grimaces. "I don't know if that's a good idea," she says pityingly, "He's probably not in his very best shape right now. The disease did bad things, Bella, and I don't think you should see your father that way."

But I am resolved. "I want to see him," I assert, "I know that it won't be pretty, but I need . . . closure. Sometimes I feel like he's just going to walk in and ask me when dinner will be on the table, and I know that's not healthy. I think if I could just see him this one last time and say g-goodbye..." I begin to choke up a little at the end, and tears spring to my eyes like needles.

Esme smiles and wraps her arms around me in a comforting hug. Then she pulls away and suggests, "Perhaps we could hold a funeral. It would be short, small, and much less than your father deserved, but I know that he'd love it."

"That's a wonderful idea! But, where would we get a coffin? And we don't have a minister..."

"Don't worry, Bella, I'll take care of it. I've studied Christianity, so I'll be able to say a few words, I suppose. We don't really have much time to do this, but I think it will make you feel much better," she assures me.

Esme carries me to my old front yard and sets me down gently. She runs inside for just a few seconds before announcing that Charlie isn't here. I choke up again at the thought. "He would have wanted to die helping," I tell her hoarsely, "The townspeople are—were... I mean, he just cared so much..." I don't know if I'm going to make it through the funeral at this rate.

"He was a great man," Esme agrees. "Why don't you go look around your house while I find him?"

I nod, not sure of my ability to speak without sobbing. Esme sends me another small smile before dashing away into the trees. I approach the old house slowly at first, frightened of what I might find inside despite Esme's search. The yard is overgrown with weeds, and a window or two is cracked. I gulp back mucus as I reach the doorstep and remember the last time I was here.

_It all started with a normal nightmare. I was alone in the woods, searching for someone I knew I would never find but could not bear to abandon as always, but then it changed. Several figures shot by me, their white skin luminescent in the light of the full moon. Countless blows began to befall me all over my body, the culprits disappearing before I could even look at them. Finally, a stone hand wrapped around me neck and I saw the face of my attacker: Edward. His normally golden orbs were the bloody crimson of a wilting rose, and his fangs gleamed in the moonlight against the backdrop of his red lips. He leaned in to inhale my scent, and a drop of blood escaped the corner of his mouth as he whispered, "So delicious..." Only to disappear, leaving me as deplorably alone as I had been before my angel had found me._

_I awoke screaming as I always had, but this was not ordinary screaming. I cried out with the terror of one who had been cornered by death, the fury of a thousand violet flames, and the grief of a mere human lost in an empty world. Charlie burst in, alarmed by this new bout of terror, and tried frantically to calm me down, but no soothing whispers, panicked questions, or desperate ultimatums could quiet me. After a groan of defeat, he left the room. I was vaguely aware of him talking on the phone, but I was beyond reason. Soon one of his friends had come to help whisk me away to the place where I would stay indefinitely. At first I didn't realize what they were doing, but I fought back as soon as the word "hospital" had been thrown around a few times. They managed to carry me out of my room, down the stairs, and out the front door. I did not take the time to memorize how the house looked or smelled or felt, for I did not know that this would be the last time I would see it before the world changed forever. As Charlie and his friend carried me out to the police cruiser, Charlie's only mode of transportation, the only thing I really saw was the sky. The black abyss that was the night sky had returned, and I loathed it almost as much as I loathed the sun and its patronizing rays. That was the last memory I stored away of my home._

My pale fingers reach for the brass doorknob without much instruction from my brain. I hold tightly, but make no move to turn it. I take a moment to compose myself and take deep breaths. _Maybe,_ I think as I squint my eyes shut, _if I just think hard enough, everything will be okay inside._ It's a pretty dream to imagine Charlie waiting inside wondering where dinner is, but the rational side of my brain, always the spoilsport, knows otherwise. Still, I do my best to visualize the perfect world.

I open the door slowly, noting the creaking sound the hinges make. Disappointment hits me, cold and hard, the moment the entryway is revealed to me. No lights are on. No baseball game is playing in the living room. No quiet voice calls out to ask me where I've been for the last month.

All is silent.

The scene I am met with brings fresh tears to my eyes. A lamp has fallen over. Mold is evident on the ceiling. The rotting corpse of a raccoon that somehow found its way inside reposes unnaturally at the bottom of the unused stairway, and the stench of death fills my nose. The carpet is soggy around the windows, which were left open. Everything else is as it would have been on a normal day, just covered in a layer of dust. The moment my gaze stops on a humble display of family photos, I flee up the stairs.

The familiar hallway looks like a horror movie swallowed it whole and spit it back out, making it as foreign and intimidating as I could have imagined. It seems longer, and without the electric lights, the only illumination is whatever leaks from the window in my room into the hall. Everything is as it should be, with my door hanging open and Charlie's shut tight. I will definitely not be going in there. It becomes too much at the sight of a lonely fishing pole propped up against the wall.

I peek into my room apprehensively, noting that it is perhaps the most and least eerie place in the entire house. It is as unnaturally clean as I left it, with no ornamentation to make it stand out as mine. The blankets on my bed are still twisted from my tossing and turning, leading me to conclude that Charlie probably could not bring himself to clean it up before the end.

What a terrible daughter I was! I hardly ever saw him before I moved here, reluctantly visiting Forks for the first several years of my life before throwing a fit and demanding that we meet in the middle; he must have thought that I didn't want to see him. Then I decided out of the blue that I wanted to come live with him, not out of desire for his companionship, but out of sacrifice for my mother. At first, I hated every minute I spent in this rainy town and did a poor job of hiding it. When Edward and I got together, Charlie suddenly had to worry about his little girl going out with boys, a stressful thing for any father, and spent every moment I could with my new boyfriend. Despite his loner personality, I could have spent more time with him. Watched a few more baseball games with him. Went fishing. Maybe told him I loved him just a few times more... But I didn't. Then Edward left, and I was suddenly a zombie. How terrible that must have been! Watching me waste away, listening to my screams at night, and being able to do nothing about it. I tried to be normal for Charlie, but I failed miserably. And now I will never be able to apologize.

I collapse to the ground in front of my door, hating myself. How could I have been so terrible to him?! I need to apologize, hug him, and tell him I love him more than he knew, certainly more than I showed. But I can't.

Esme finds me there, sobbing on the floor like a maniac. Her cold—though somehow warm— touch to my shoulder pulls me from the pits of self pity back into the real world. My limbs feel weak as I bring myself shakily to my feet. Esme smiles softly at me, her golden eyes showing me more compassion than an hour long monologue could convey. We exchange no words as she wraps her arm around my shoulders supportingly, scoops me up, and sprints at light speed to an unknown destination.

She sets me on my feet in a place I have been very few times in my life. The Forks Cemetery. Countless headstones, all in various stages of disrepair, some with dead bouquets or fake flowers beside them, cover the landscape. Something about this place drags the hysteria back up my throat.

I notice that I am standing in front of the only two headstones I'd ever really paid attention to here: Geoffrey and Helen Swan, Charlie's parents. They died before I started school, and Charlie didn't talk about them much, so I never knew them well, but I heard Renee talk about them. For about two years, she always made me call on the anniversary of their deaths, and I remembered when she forgot. That always seemed to cheer my dad up. At least know they'll be together...in Heaven.

The sad scene beside them makes my chest heave again with emotion. A simple wooden coffin lies open on the yellowed grass, and a foreboding, rectangular hole has been dug next to it. I break from Esme's embrace and walk at my own pace toward the coffin. Any attempt at a stoic mask I had made shatters the moment I see him, and my thoughts come in a churning vortex of observation, emotion, and instinct.

He looks so vulnerable, lying there by himself. Very different from the strong but humble man I knew. His arms have been placed across his chest as is customary for the burial of the dead for some unknown reason. Something about his stiff posture suggests that he is frightened, or was frightened, I suppose. I feel the almost unquenchable urge to protect him.

Esme had obviously taken great care to make him look his best, but even hours with Alice could not bring this man back from the dead. His hair has been combed back, his mustache straightened, and his suit is obviously new, or at the very least not what he has been wearing. Nothing is new any more. I notice the traces of makeup that have been applied to his face, and I wonder what could have happened to make that necessary. Then I remember from a morbid day in science class what happens to people's bodies when they die, and it suddenly makes sense; I feel ill at the thought.

How deplorably lonely this ceremony will be! Charlie deserves to have the whole town out here, remembering good times they'd had with their beloved Police Chief. Instead, all he has is me and Esme to put him to rest after a decent stretch of time lying dead who-knows-where. I bury my face in my hands and take deep, calming breaths in an attempt to chase away these thoughts.

"Bella," Esme reminds me softly, "We only have so much time..."

"You're right," I choke, "Let's get started."

Unfortunately, neither of us seem to have any idea how to conduct a funeral. The only one I'd ever been to was when Grandma Marie died, and that was a long time ago. Finding a bout of courage I didn't know I had somewhere deep inside of me, I take a deep breath and begin to speak, "Charlie was a great man. One of the best I've ever met. He deserves so much more than this—so much more. He was, uh, always helpful. He has always put others before himself. Instead of going to college he looked after his ailing parents." _And where was I when my parents were dying? _"He met my mother Renee, and fell madly in love with her. I didn't understand before how he could have fallen for her in such a short time...and how that love could have withstood years of separation after their divorce. Now I think I do. He loved my mother, he really did. The cupboards are still yellow..." _I'm not making any sense now!_ I begin to blubber, unable to contain the emotion. "And he loved me too. I hated Forks, just like my mother did, at first. I whined and sulked all the time I was here, but he didn't hate me for it! I must have hurt him a thousand times, moping on fishing trips, demanding not to visit him in Forks any longer, allowing myself to become a shell of a person once I was here... But he still loved me! Anyone who can forgive that sort of behavior, and still love the transgressor, deserves more than just this little thing. That deserves a, I dunno, parade or something awesome like that! He cared about his work, he really did. He loved the people of Forks and did his damnedest to keep them them safe. That's how I know...that he would have wanted to help them. That, even in his last days and knowing that he too would die, he helped them. And that's how I know that he's... happy now. That he's not here, having to listen to my terrible speech, that he's in Heaven with his parents, and Renee, and Billy, and..." I fall to my knees before the coffin and clasp Charlie's dead hand. "That he—you—are happy now. Watching me right now, probably wishing I'd stop this blubbering." I try to laugh, but it comes out as an especially, choked sob. "But I need you to know this, Dad! I need you to know that I loved you too! I need you to know that I don't hate Forks, or fishing, or you, never you. Never you. I hope you found someone in Heaven. Someone to love you and care for you like I didn't. I hope sincerely that you found someone to love again, someone like Renee. I know how hard it is to lose someone like that, to feel like you weren't good enough. But you were good enough, more than good enough. Not a fool for loving, like Renee said sometimes. I know she loved you too." I feel small again, like a child. "I want you back, Dad. I know it's selfish of me, but I want you _here._ I wish I'd never left you. I should've been a good daughter, like you deserve, but I wasn't, and for that I am _so_ eternally sorry. If I live forever—" I break off for a second, contemplating the irony in this promise. "If I live forever, I will always love you. Always."

I remain their, faithfully at my father's side for the last time, for an immeasurable amount of time. I choke out memories of him in between sobs, going on and on until I feel like I might not be able to speak any more. "Remember, when I was visiting you for the summer that first time, and you tried to teach me how to ride a bike? I told you I was too clumsy, but you didn't give up on me. You were so patient, and we kept working at it all day. After lunch, I was able to stay up on two wheels for the first time, and you were so proud. I was ecstatic. And you walked along side me as I rode until it was dark, just to keep that smile on my face," I whisper scratchily, "Well, I want you to know that I'm happy now. Edward and I are together again, as I'm sure you knew. He makes me happy, Dad. The thought of me marrying so young may be enough to make you turn in your grave, but I don't regret it. I only wish that you could have been there to walk me down the aisle."

Esme kneels down beside me after this. She wraps her arms around me and strokes my hair soothingly as I cry. "Bella, we have to go now. We're running out of time."

I nod and stand. I stare lovingly and longingly at Charlie's face one last time before whispering, "Good bye, Dad. I love you."

_Author's note: Oh, how emotional! I hope you guys are happy with this; it might be the longest chapter yet. I'm a little nervous about how emotional it is, and I hope you all liked it. Please review, even if you hated it._

_**REVIEWERS GET TO SEE HOW ESME PUT TOGETHER THE FUNERAL IN HER POINT OF VIEW!**_


	19. Chapter 19

_Summary: Edward arrived at the mental institution and was reunited with Bella. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves Bella was dead. The Cullens met with the Denali coven while Laurent betrayed their whereabouts to the Volturi. The Volturi returned to Denali and took Bella, agreeing to let the Cullens accompany them to Volterra after some quick thinking on Bella's part. They arrived in Volterra and Bella met the other survivors, who were shocked and appalled when Edward entered. Edward later proposed at a romantic dinner. They were secretly married in a private ceremony. Bella had a very interesting doctor's appointment with Carlisle and was almost eaten by Felix. Aro summoned them and said that he would have to take Bella away from the Cullens, but Rosalie stopped him by proposing to trade the wolf pack for Bella. Bella and Edward argued over him not telling her about Jacob's continued existence, but Alice convinced her to forgive him. Bella and Esme buried Charlie._

**Chapter 19 (JACOB'S POV)**

Another day. Another pointless period of daylight on this sphere of dirt we call our home. Or used to. It doesn't feel much like home any more. The houses are still here, but they just don't symbolize the same thing; they're like something from a cheesy horror movie, all empty halls and darkness.

"Hey, Jake!" Seth calls, running toward my spot on the edge of the cliff, "Sam wants us to run a border patrol." Weird kid. You'd think after all of this crap, he'd be capable of giving me a moment of peace and quiet, but not him. He;s always waiting to do things and be active, unlike the rest of us who just want to curl up in a corner somewhere and not think. As much as I resent his pleasant disposition, I know the pack needs it. Without someone giving us a cheery kick to the behind, we'd just sulk all day.

Still, it would be a crime not to complain. "What's the point?" I sigh, gazing drearily out at the unwavering ocean. "Not like we've got anything to protect."

"Jake," Seth chastises me, "You know we have to do our job. The vamps are still out there!"

I groan, exasperated. "Why doesn't Sam get off his furry butt and..."

"You know Sam isn't... doing well. Since Emily, you know?" Seth reminds me, his child like eyes widening in sympathy for our leader. As if I could forget what happened to Emily. And Billy. And everyone else on Earth.

This catastrophe hit the imprinted wolves the hardest. Jared hasn't phased out of his wolf form since Kim passed, and the only thoughts we can pick up from him are barely discernible, which is part of why I try to avoid becoming a wolf now. Embry and I managed to bring Quil back after little Claire, but that's after several failed suicide attempts. Their despair isn't exactly helping to lift the pack's spirits.

My pain has been drowned out by the agony of the others. My father, I assume my sisters, Bella... Though I didn't have time to imprint on Bella before she went to live with her mother, I'm sure that I would have the moment I set eyes on her after phasing. Concerning what has happened to the human race, it's probably a good thing that that never had a chance to happen. Theoretically, that should make her tremendously easier to get over, but now I just get caught up in imagining what could have happened between us. I would have imprinted on her, healed her after that filthy bloodsucker broke her heart, and married her, etc. My nights are haunted by these imaginings, this beautiful flower that was stomped out before it could sprout. Leaving me unable to stop yearning to smell its fantastic fragrance once more and touch its perfect petals one last time.

I am broken from my reverie by the distinctive sound of someone phasing. Seth's sandy muzzle nudges me encouragingly and I finally relent. Not caring bout my shorts—after all, no one is around to see me but the guys and Leah—I transform. The sudden power that flows through me burns, flashing through me until I am no longer confined by my humanity. The stress I felt less than a minute ago dims in the simple mind of a wolf. Seth and I take off in unison to run the perimeter of Forks.

The more primordial mindset I have entered does not, however, ban the negative thoughts and emotions from my mind. As Seth and I race past the makeshift graveyard we put together for the sudden excess of bodies we had on our hands, flashes of the past few weeks grip my mind like the bony hands of a starving demon.

"_—stay in your homes. The virus is spreading rapidly, but there is hope that, with seclusion, it could be stopped." I flip the channel. "Casualties are mounting up in the Washington area with no end in sight—except maybe the sharp descent of living people left to be infected." Flip. "Hospitals closed—" Flip. "—can only pray—" Off. Then from the other room, "Son..."_

Fat load of help the news was when things got bad.

_Billy was splayed out on the bed, his sheets in a rumpled heap beside the bed. He'd decided he was hot, but I knew that was likely to change in a few minutes. "Do you want any..."_

_"No, Jacob," my father rasped, "I don't." He gasped in a breath. "I want you... to stay safe."_

_I sighed, feebly exasperated. No matter what my father said, there was no way I was leaving him. For some bizarre reason, I wasn't sick yet, but I could feel it coming on. I felt feverish and achy, like my very bones were about to explode out of my skin. But Billy needed me, and I couldn't show weakness._

_Suddenly, the whole situation was too much, too horrible. Everyone was dying, and there was nothing I could do about it. I thought that I would be dead too in a few days. Blood boiled in my veins as the fury thrashed inside of me, and I muttered a quick apology before running outside. Then I wasn't me any more._

Once I'd calmed down enough to phase back, Billy was dead.

I refuse to remember the burials. Even in my head, the word funeral doesn't fit in the context. We cleared the bodies out of La Push because it was starting to stink, dug a hole, and put them in it, which hardly constitutes a ceremony of any sort. Some people, like our parents and imprints, were buried individually, but we just didn't have the time or the will to do anything special. We plan on starting Forks next week.

Seth's thoughts break through mine yet again. _Jake, I think I see..._

_Vampire!_ I think back, picking up my pace. Both through Seth's eyes and my own perspective, I can see a figure—pale as the moon, graceful as a dancer, and faster than any natural organism. In other words, not a bunny rabbit. I force myself to inhale, a habit I've been trying to stifle since the air started to smell like death permanently, and wrinkle my nose at the sickly sweet scent. A ferocious growl erupts from deep within my chest, and I spring toward the undead intruder without completely thinking it through. All of my pent up anger is ready to be unleashed, aimed at this bloodsucker. I. Will. Kill. It.

Then I notice the other being riding on the female's back. My eyes widen, first in recognition, then in disbelief. It couldn't be, but... it is. Perhaps this is a trick, cruel artifice, but maybe... Maybe it isnt'. The petite, obviously human girl's doe eyes stare into mine with wonder.

"Jake?" she whispers, still clinging to the female's back.

My entire world changes in that moment. All of my assumptions, educated guesses made for the sake of sparing myself the dismal certainty of fact, are wiped away like a mask on the world removed. Part of me is waiting, waiting eagerly for the moment when, as Sam put it, gravity moves, but it doesn't come. There is only the natural shock of someone returning from the dead. No weird, wolf-y powers involved. This part of me is disappointed.

The other part of me reacts instinctively. The wolf in me sees the human I have come to love clinging to the back of a creature I'd been raised to hate, and I react. I am flying at them, teeth bared and claws ready to rip into and mutilate the monster in front of me. The vampire, a demure female, slips away at the last millisecond and jumps to perch out of my reach in a mighty oak, and Seth's voice cautions me before I can reposition myself.

_Jake, wait! _Seth shouts mentally, _You'll hurt her! _It is his imaginings, however, that immobilize me rather than his words. An all too real image, formed by the macabre combination of Sam's mental images, the current scene, and a variety of gory action movies, is seared into the very cells of my eyes. Bella, torn and broken on the ground, deep crimson everywhere, her doe eyes wide with pain and horror, and her raspy breaths becoming more and more labored until finally... nothing.

"We want to talk," Bella calls as the female sets her on her feet. She keeps one arm cautiously around the vampire and another propping herself up against the tree trunk. The female keeps an arm around her as well, but I can't help fearing for her safety. Her words barely register in my mind between the ghastly image and proximity of my mortal enemy. "That's going to be kind of hard if I can't hear you."

I don't think. I obediently follow her implied command and make the natural change from wolf to human. At first, I don't understand why Bella and the vampire quickly turn their heads or why Seth looks at me funny, his eyes alight with humor. Then a slight breeze brushes through the forest and understanding dawns on me. Oh, crap!

The pack long ago abandoned the hindrance of carrying shorts around on our ankles when we change, since there was no foreseeable reason for us to need to change back suddenly. Now, the nearest pair of shorts is lying uselessly in my drawers at home. Very eloquently, I stutter out, "Uh, um, I, uh..."

My sickly shock doubles when Bella begins to remove her jacket. What the...?

She, still not looking, tosses the garment in my general direction. Despite the throw being off by a few feet, I have no problem catching it and hastily wrapping it around my waist. "Okay, you can look now," I call when I'm done, "Sorry about that."

They turn back to face me. A surge of joy springs through my veins when I see Bella's blushing face; I thought I'd never see that again.

"Now we need to discuss something important," Bella says, a determined expression set on her face.

I get the vibe that Bella isn't here to socialize. But I have some questions to ask first, because this is all a little too bewildering. Bella shows up weeks after the disease ran its course, seemingly in perfect health, with one of her precious Cullens in tow. Though I do not want to acknowledge it, she looks like she's in a better state than she was when I last saw her, even through her ragged appearance and eyes bloodshot from crying. "How the Hell are you still alive, Bella?"

"That's kind of part of the story," she replies sheepishly. Bella sighs, wrapping an arm around her torso, and I feel bad that her t-shirt isn't enough to keep her warm. "This might take a while."

**...**

"So you're saying that the reeking bloodsuckers want to round us up for breeding like we're dogs?" I spit, horrified at the proposition.

Bella smirks bleakly at the irony in my question before her imploring expression returns. "Look, I know this isn't ideal, but..."

"Not 'ideal?'" I laugh scathingly, "What kind of sick joke is that? This is certainly not _ideal. _It's intolerable, horrific! We won't do it."

"Jake, if you don't listen to reason—"

"What reason? There's nothing reasonable about any of this, Bella."

"They'll come after you. They'll come after you, and they'll take you whether you want to stay, go, or cry for your mother. Nothing you can do will stop them," she asserts pleadingly. I try to ignore the sincerity and certainty in her eyes.

"We can kill vampires, in case you hadn't noticed. That's kind of what we're made for," I remind her impatiently, "We'll take them out, no problem."

"Not these vampires, you won't!" she shrieks, stamping her foot as her face contorts into an enraged grimace, "These vampires aren't like other ones. They'll outnumber you by a _lot, _but that's not even the worst part. They have gifts like you've never seen before, terrible gifts capable of incapacitating all of you in mere seconds. I've seen them myself, Jacob, and you really don't stand a chance. If you have any sense of self preservation or care at all about your pack, you'll go with them without a fight."

I groan internally, then sigh. "What do you expect me to say? 'Alright, we'll go be cattle for a bunch of magic leeches. No prob, Bella.'"

"I'm expecting you to have half a brain," she presses, stepping closer to me to emphasize her point, "Listen to logic, do what's necessary for the wellbeing of your pack. Isn't that what you want?"

"It would not be for the wellbeing of my pack for them to become part of a human farm," I shout, "I don't know what the ticks have been feeding you, Bells, but there's something wrong with that picture."

She opens her mouth to say something else, but I don't hear what it is. My ears, still supernaturally sensitive, pick up something very disturbing. Footsteps. Lots of them.

"They're coming," the female vampire—Esme, I think—announces, speaking for the first time.

I mutter a curse under my breath and know that I'll have to make my decision now. Fast.


End file.
